AT&T’s 39GHz spectrum win sets stage for national 3Gbps 5G service

Prior to this year, 5G carrier AT&T had already placed a large bet on the 39GHz millimeter wave radio band, acquiring FiberTower’s sizable 379MHz blocks of spectrum. Today, AT&T confirmed that it has more than doubled its national 39GHz spectrum holdings to 786MHz, on average, a development that should enable the carrier to offer at least 3Gbps download speeds across the country — assuming it has the wherewithal to actually build towers to support the short-distance mmWave holdings. The considerably faster transfer speeds promised by 5G networks depend on empty spectrums — radio frequencies that aren’t already being used for other purposes. To hasten U.S. 5G development, the FCC has been auctioning blocks of millimeter wave spectrums, and AT&T swapped its FiberTower holdings for auction vouchers, enabling it to target contiguous spectrum blocks across the country. After bidding $2.4 billion, half from vouchers, AT&T won the 786MHz of nationwide 39GHz spectrum, bringing its national mmWave average to 1,040MHz, including separate 24GHz holdings.