AT&T wants to stop the planned partnership between T-Mobile and SpaceX's Starlink.
A visitor walks past US multinational telecommunications AT&T logo at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 27, 2023.
To do this, the telco giant filed a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) explaining why the collaboration shouldn't be allowed.
In 2022, SpaceX and T-Mobile confirmed that they want to allow carrier subscribers to connect to 2nd-gen Starlink satellites.
This plan is expected to give consumers better internet coverage, especially in remote areas.
However, AT&T claims that FCC should not allow this effort for numerous reasons.
AT&T Urges FCC To Stop T-Mobile, SpaceX Starlink Partnership!
According to CNET's latest report, AT&T and its affiliates filed a complaint on Thursday, May 18.
The AT&T sponsor logo is seen on the backdrop of the 31st Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala at the Convention Center in Palm Springs, California, on January 2, 2020.
The telecommunications company said that the plan of T-Mobile and SpaceX could jeopardize or inhibit their mobile and wireless broadband services.
One of the main problems highlighted by AT&T's complaint is that SpaceX's proposed use of T-Mobile's terrestrial spectrum doesn't qualify in FCC's rules.
Aside from this, AT&T also claimed that SpaceX and T-Mobile fail to request or justify rule waivers needed to authorize their proposed SCS (supplemental coverage from space) authorizations.
"More broadly, the Applicants' technical showings are woefully insufficient regarding the risk of harmful interference posed by their planned SCS deployments," explained the telco giant.
AT&T added that the applications made by the two companies don't meet the threshold for the waiver.
Because of this, the telecommunications company believes that the requests of SpaceX and T-Mobile should not be granted in their current state.
Will FCC Give In To AT&T's Request?
As of writing, it is still too early to say that FCC will give in to AT&T's request to stop the partnership between SpaceX and T-Mobile.
Recently, some rumors claimed that SpaceX's Starlink and T-Mobile are both preparing to begin their SCS tests this 2023.
This means that SpaceX and T-Mobile haven't publicized a successful call from space, which will prove that their SCS plan doesn't cause interference.
Meanwhile, AT&T already made a surface-through-space call with its own satellite partner, AST SpaceMobile.
You can check this link to learn more about their internet enhancement activities.
In other news, Google Fiber introduced a new 20-gig internet speed tier, which is offered for free to selected testers.
Meanwhile, SpaceX's Starlink finally expanded to schools in remote areas in the Philippines.
For more news updates about AT&T and other telco giants, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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