For this issue of “How does our data compare?” we will look at the following statement from Joan Marsh’s blog. Joan is AT&T's Vice President of Federal Regulatory.
"For AT&T, the restrictions will predominantly impact our ability to compete for spectrum in urban areas. Indeed, our preliminary analysis suggests that we will be restricted in all Top 50 markets except six (Cleveland, Phoenix, Virginia Beach, Charlotte, Raleigh and Greenville to be exact). The restrictions will therefore directly impact our ability to serve customers in the most data hungry markets like NY, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Baltimore-DC, Philadelphia, Boston and Dallas."
T-Mobile’s Magenta Herring – Posted by Joan Marsh (AT&T)
Using Allnet Insights’ Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool we are able to evaluate AT&T’s low band spectrum ownership for all US Partial Economic Area (PEA) market. For this evaluation, we want to see the markets where AT&T’s low band spectrum ownership is less than 45MHz. This would be a PEA market where AT&T would not expect restrictions in the Broadband Incentive Auction (600MHz).
For the Top 50 markets we have the same markets that Joan Marsh indicated in her blog. Also included in the screenshot is amount of low band spectrum that AT&T controls as well as its competitor’s spectrum holdings in the same markets. It is interesting to note that Verizon would be restricted in each of these 6 markets, and T-Mobile only has low band spectrum in 1 of these markets. In addition, we detail how the low band spectrum is divided between cellular spectrum and 700 MHz spectrum.
As we have demonstrated, our data provides similar results to AT&T’s analysis, but it also allows the other national wireless carriers (and over 600 smaller carriers) to be evaluated in the same manner.
Allnet Insights’ Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool provides county-level spectrum depth and LTE channel configurations, as well as Partial Economic Area (PEA), Economic Area (EA), and Cellular Market Area (CMA) market level spectrum depth evaluations.
Many have grown accustomed to using the FCC Spectrum Dashboard for quick and relatively simple access to spectrum ownership data. This was never a complete solution for spectrum ownership analysis because many frequency blocks (AWS-H, AWS-3, and AWS-4) were never available for query. There have been several blocks of data that have entirely disappeared (700MHz – D block) or been so reduced in quantity that what is left is highly questionable.
Recently, I went to the FCC Spectrum Dashboard to download a large block of spectrum data for analysis. To receive a large data file, the FCC has historically sent a link to a user input email address where the data can be downloaded. After 3 unsuccessful attempts, to receive the email links, I called the FCC support line and was informed that feature was indeed broken and would not be fixed. The customer support representative also indicated that the data available on the site had not been updated since 7/7/2014, over a year ago.
I think we can declare the FCC Spectrum Dashboard dead as a spectrum ownership tool. Since Allnet Insights tracks all spectrum transactions related to the mobile carrier frequencies, we know that since July 9, 2014 over 350 applications have been submitted changing the ownership or leasing on nearly 700 call signs. These numbers don’t include any of new AWS-3 call signs which include an additional 1,614 call signs. In all, the FCC Spectrum Dashboard has incorrect data for nearly 2000 call signs.
Fortunately, AllNet Insights’ Spectrum Owners Analysis Tool and its National Carrier reports continue to provide the industry leading information on spectrum ownership through our carefully managed spectrum ownership database This database maintains the current licensee, lease, and future licensee for every block of US wireless carrier spectrum.
Today, the FCC approved a Channel 51 transition in Bend, OR. The movement of this TV station from Channel 51 to Channel 18, will eliminate the adjacent channel interference risk to USCellular's 700MHz A-Block spectrum in Eugene, OR and T-Mobile's A-Block spectrum in Linn, Deschutes, and Lake counties. It eliminates interference concerns across a total of 7 counties with a total population of 709,258. Below is a listing of the currently filed Channel 51 transitions. Each of the Daily Digest dates is linked to the filed information.
| Final Daily Digest
| Initial Daily Digest
| Market
| Call Sign
| Current Channel
| Proposed Channel
|
|
| Oklahoma City, OK
| KSBI(TV)
| 51
| 23
|
|
| Rome, GA
| WPXA(TV)
| 51
| 31
|
|
| Kansas City, MO
| KPXE-TV
| 51
| 30
|
|
|
| Dayton, OH
| WKEF(TV)
| 51
| 18
|
|
|
| Denver, CO
| KCEC(TV)
| 51
| 26
|
|
| Longview, TX
| KCEB
| 51
| 26
|
|
|
| Lansing, MI
| WLAJ-TV
| 51
| 25
|
|
|
| Bend, OR
| KOHD
| 51
| 18
|
|
| Providence, RI
| WJAR(TV)
| 51
| 50
|
The FCC just completed their market review of the AT&T purchase of Plateau/ENMR wireless spectrum and customers. Linked below is the review which includes an overview of the spectrum holdings of major carriers in each market, the available spectrum in each market, and the amount of spectrum that AT&T would hold post transition. This is a great example of the new enhanced review.
Applications of AT&T Inc., E.N.M.R. TelephoneCooperative, Plateau Telecommunications, Inc.,New Mexico RSA 4 East Limited Partnership, andTexas RSA 3 Limited Partnership
Yesterday, the FCC accepted a Channel 51 transition in Providence, RI. The movement of this TV station from Channel 51 to Channel 50, will eliminate the adjacent channel interference risk to T-Mobile's 700MHz A-Block spectrum in Boston, MA. It eliminates interference concerns across 22 counties with a total population of 8,228,649 Below is a listing of the currently filed Channel 51 transitions. Each of the Daily Digest dates is linked to the filed information.
Below are the markets, states, and counties affected by the Providence (RI) Channel 51 interference:
AllNet's Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool has incorporated the Channel 51 interference issue into our Spectrum Grid module. From this module, you can see the 700MHz A-Block owner and an indication of whether Channel 51 is licensed in that particular county. Green highlights over the Channel 51 call sign indicate that a transition plan has been approved, yellow highlights indicate that a transition plan has been filed, and red highlights indicate the markets where interference issues will persist.
Yesterday, the FCC approved a Channel 51 transition in Bend, OR. The movement of this TV station from Channel 51 to Channel 18, will eliminate the adjacent channel interference risk to T-Mobile's 700MHz A-Block spectrum in rural Oregon. It eliminates interference concerns across 7 counties with a total population of 709,258 Below is a listing of the currently filed Channel 51 transitions. Each of the Daily Digest dates is linked to the filed information.
AllNet's Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool has incorporated the Channel 51 interference issue into our Spectrum Grid module. From this module, you can see the 700MHz A-Block owner and an indication of whether Channel 51 is licensed in that particular county. Green highlights over the Channel 51 call sign indicate that a transition plan has been approved, yellow highlights indicate that a transition plan has been filed, and red highlights indicate the markets where interference issues will persist.
Defining the Commencement of Operations in the 600MHz BandClick the link above to review the FCC's initial proposal for the shutdown of low power and unlicensed operations in the 600MHz band.
Promoting Innovation in the 3.5 GHz BandClick the above link to access T-Mobile's filed presentation with the FCC. When the presentation is opened in Adobe, right click to rotate the presentation clockwise for easier reading.
With the conclusion of Verizon's investor call, I thought it would be worthwhile putting together some facts behind Verizon's statement that they have accumlulated 40MHz or more AWS spectrum in 92 of the Top 100 markets. Unfortunately, they don't define the markets, but from AllNet's Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool, we have compiled Verizon's AWS spectrum holdings based upon CMA markets. The markets below 40 MHz include: San Juan, Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Oklahoma City, McAllen, Springfield, and the New Jersey 2 market. This matches Verizon's statement of 40MHz of AWS spectrum in 92 of the Top 100 markets.
Yesterday, the FCC approved a Channel 51 transition in Lansing, MI. The movement of this TV station from Channel 51 to Channel 25, will eliminate the adjacent channel interference risk to T-Mobile's 700MHz A-Block spectrum in Detroit. Below is a listing of the currently filed Channel 51 transitions. Each of the Daily Digest dates is linked to the filed information.
AllNet's Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool has incorporated the Channel 51 interference issue into our Spectrum Grid module. From this module, you can see the 700MHz A-Block owner and an indication of whether Channel 51 is licensed in that particular county. Green highlights over the Channel 51 call sign indicate that a transition plan has been approved, yellow highlights indicate that a transition plan has been filed, and red highlights indicate the markets where interference issues will persist.
For the next four days we will be posting a map each day for one of the national spectrum holders that indicates the amount of spectrum they are adding to their spectrum holdings in the Top 100 Cellular Market Areas. The primary source of the additions on these maps are the AWS-3 spectrum licenses although other proposed (FCC filed) transactions are included. For T-Mobile below, the additional spectrum depth in Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland relates to a 700MHz A-block acquisition from Vulcan while the Pittsburgh market reflects both a 700MHz A-block acquisition (from McBride) and a AWS-3 H block acquisition via the auction.
In the charts below, we present the current carrier aggregation plans for AT&T, Verizon, USCellular, Dish, T-Mobile, and Sprint. Green indicates that particular frequency block is used one time in the aggregation scheme. Yellow indicates that particular frequency block is used twice in the aggregation scheme. For both the green and yellow highlights, only one carrier can be utilized in each frequency block. The blue highlights indicate that multiple carriers can be utilized in each frequency block (non contiguous).
AT&T
Verizon
T-Mobile
Sprint
Dish
US Cellular
AllNet's Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool has been updated to include all of the AWS-3 auction results in all of its Analysis Modules. Below in the Spectrum Grid Module, you can see which carrier acquired the spectrum rights for each of the uplink channels in the Top 5 CMA markets.
The screenshot of the downlink channels also provides a view into where Dish's AWS-4 spectrum fits with their new AWS-3 spectrum.
Yesterday, the FCC approved a Channel 51 transition in Dayton, OH. The movement of this TV station from Channel 51 to Channel 18, will eliminate the adjacent channel interference risk to T-Mobile's 700MHz A-Block spectrum in Denver. Below is a listing of the currently filed Channel 51 transitions. The Dayton, OH transition is linked to the FCC filings. The previous filings are linked in previous postings. Previous postings can be accessed the the Channel 51 label.
Our Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool has incorporated the Channel 51 interference issue into our Spectrum Grid module. From this module, you can see the 700MHz A-Block owner and an indication of whether Channel 51 is licensed in that particular county. Green highlights over the Channel 51 callsign indicate that a transition plan has been approved, yellow highlights indicate that a transition plan has been filed, and red highlights indicate the markets where interference issues will persist.
Yesterday, the FCC approved a Channel 51 transition in Denver, CO. The movement of this TV station from Channel 51 to Channel 26, will eliminate the adjacent channel interference risk to T-Mobile's 700MHz A-Block spectrum in Denver. Below is a listing of the currently filed Channel 51 transitions. Each of the Daily Digest dates is linked to the filed information.
| Final Daily Digest | Initial Daily Digest | Market
| Call Sign | Current Channel | Proposed Channel |
| 12/13/2013 | Oklahoma City, OK | KSBI(TV) | 51 | 23 |
| 9/4/2014 | Rome, GA | WPXA(TV) | 51 | 31 |
| 9/4/2014 | Kansas City, MO | KPXE-TV | 51 | 30 |
| 9/18/2014 | Dayton, OH | WKEF(TV) | 51 | 18 |
| 12/16/2014 | 10/17/2014 | Denver, CO | KCEC(TV) | 51 | 26 |
| 12/8/2014 | Longview, TX | KCEB | 51 | 26 |
Our Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool has incorporated the Channel 51 interference issue into our Spectrum Grid module. From this module, you can see the 700MHz A-Block owner and an indication of whether Channel 51 is licensed in that particular county. Green highlights over the Channel 51 callsign indicate that a transition plan has been approved, yellow highlights indicate that a transition plan has been filed, and red highlights indicate the markets where interference issues will persist.
The November 2014 Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool includes several enhancements to the Market Level Reports.
Market Level Reports are available for Cellular Market Areas
(CMA) and Economic Areas
(EA). Initially these market level reports only included spectrum depth values for each carrier by spectrum band. With this update, you can see each selected carrier's
total spectrum holdings, their spectrum
holdings in each of the
primary band classes (
Low Band,
Mid Band, and
High Band), and their spectrum
holdings in each
spectrum band.
The band classes are defined as follows:
- Low Band
- Mid Band
- L Band/S Band (AWS-4)
- AWS-1
- PCS
- AWS -3 (when the auction is complete)
- High Band
The user can select 8 carriers to be displayed in these reports from the 580 carriers available in the Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool. For the examples below, we have included most of the national wireless carriers as well as a few regional carriers.
The spectrum depth values for each of these reports are determined from the county-level spectrum ownership information in the Spectrum Ownership Analysis Tool using a population-weighted average. This means that each of the county-level spectrum depth values is multiplied by a ratio of the county's population divided by the market population. This provides for a higher weighting for spectrum depth in higher population counties.
CMA Market Report - Total Spectrum Depth and Spectrum Depth by Band Class
CMA Market Report - Spectrum Depth by Frequency Band
In support of the upcoming auctions we have included the available AWS3 channels in our Spectrum Grid worksheet and we have added both a CMA and EA Market Report.
In the Spectrum Grid you can see the primary spectrum owner for any spectrum band, including the adjacent AWS1 band, at a county level. The CMA Market Report displays the spectrum holdings for 8 selected carriers utilizing the Cellular Market Area (CMA) geographic boundaries. The EA Market Report displays the spectrum holdings for 8 selected carriers utilizing the Economica Area (EA) geographic boundaries. For both of these reports, AllNet's county-level data is population weighted averaged to either the CMA or EA markets.
Spectrum Grid (AWS3 Portion)
CMA Market Report
EA Market Report
Here is the first channel sharing agreement where spectrum will be sold back to the FCC as part of the 600MHz Broadcast Incentive Auction.
Los Angeles KCET/KLCSIt is interesting to note that neither of the stations involved is operating a for profit business. KCET indicates that 2 million Southern Californians watch weekly. Their broadcast footprint covers over 17 million people in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Kern, and San Diego counties. KLCS is a non-commercial educational channel directly supporting the 700,000 students within the Los Angeles Unified School District. Both broadcasters are on the major cable, Dish, and DirecTV line ups.
For over the air broadcasts, one of these broadcasters will need to become the secondary video channel. Since KLCS has a closed subscriber base, LA Schools, I think they are the ideal candidate for the secondary video channel.
With the transition to Digital TV in 2009, broadcasters utilized the new digital technology to place multiple video streams within the reallocated 6MHz channel. With an aerial antenna, your TV would see the primary video broadcast as 5.001 with the secondary broadcast as 5.002. Few secondary broadcast channels make it onto the cable TV, Dish, or DirecTV line ups.
Link to Filing
AllNet Labs is now producing research reports on topics that have a broad interest with customers through out wireless industry. These reports will typical contain maps to provide a geographical view on an issues as well as tabular analysis data. Our first report focuses on the 700MHz A Block spectrum owners. Later this week we will release a report on the Band 17 and 29 spectrum (700MHz B,C,D, and E Blocks) which AT&T has in their deployment plans.
T-Mobile 700MHz A Block - Research Report
This research report evaluates T-Mobile's ownership of the 700MHz A-Block. T-Mobile is the primary owner of the licenses for this band for a majority of the US population. This report provides a map detailing the geographies where T-Mobile is licensed as well as the geographies licensed to other carriers. This report also details the spectrum depth (MHz) and MHz-POPS (relative spectrum valuation) for each of the 700MHz A-Block licensees. Last, the Top 50 markets are evaluated to determine which licensee controls each of these critical markets.
The report includes:
Licensee Holdings Summary Table
Top 50 Markets by Licensee
