US telco giants put pen to paper on ‘notspot’ JV

• AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have formed a spectrum-sharing joint venture
• The aim of the JV is to fill in coverage gaps across the US
• Industry veteran Paul Roth will act as interim CEO
• The move comes as the debate rages around Elon Musk’s mobile service intentions

Months after announcing talks over a spectrum sharing partnership, and just as the debate is raging about Elon Musk’s own mobile service intentions, the three big US carriers – AT&T, T-Mobile US and Verizon – have signed a joint venture (JV) agreement focused on enabling connectivity in the dead zone, or ‘notspot’, parts of the US that lack terrestrial network coverage.

In May, the three operators announced their intention to form a JV that would enable them to pool valuable resources – in particular spectrum – in an effort to improve connectivity coverage across the US: Now they have finalised an agreement, though they are yet to give the new venture a name. 

The JV will initially be led by industry veteran Paul Roth, who will serve as interim CEO while the companies search for a permanent boss. Roth has previously held roles at AT&T,  Ameritech and Cingular Wireless.

The ambitions of the JV partners are noble and notable – they are pledging to “nearly eliminate” the dead zones not reached by any terrestrial wireless network coverage. The satellite-enabled coverage will also provide reliable connectivity in emergency situations when regular wireless services are unavailable due to extreme natural disasters or interruptions.

A key focus for the JV will be expanding competition in the direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services sector, with the operators pledging to give more satellite service providers the opportunity to compete, invest and grow alongside the project. The venture will also work with rural mobile network operators (MNOs) and support them in bringing new products to market.

In their announcement, the US operators pledged that the JV will offer a “technology-neutral innovation platform” that will offer easy technical integration for mobile network operators (MNOs).

“Our goal is to make staying connected simple, no matter where you are – on a rural highway, in a national park, on a boat or during an emergency. By joining with other carriers, we’re bringing our combined expertise to accelerate our customers’ access to reliable and always-on coverage everywhere. This collaboration not only makes connectivity easier; it strengthens America’s communications leadership,” stated John Stankey, AT&T’s chairman and CEO, when the JV was first announced in May.

The JV partners stressed that their individual “existing carrier-satellite agreements will remain in place and the JV partners can continue connectivity efforts independently.” That’s worth noting as all three operators have developed D2D service strategies and struck satellite partnerships, with T-Mobile US having already launched its own D2D service, T-Satellite, in partnership with Elon Musk’s Starlink Mobile, while AT&T and Verizon have both committed to offering their own D2D services with AST SpaceMobile.

Srini Gopalan, president and CEO of T-Mobile US, stated (also in May): “Having launched the first nationwide, satellite-powered direct-to-device network for text and data, we’ve seen firsthand how critical reliable connectivity can be when America needs it most. With the expansion of satellite constellations, soon to be supported by multiple space-based operators, this JV will use expanded capacity and improved performance to deliver the best possible service to customers.”

The move comes as the satellite market is heating up. Companies such as Musk’s SpaceX, through its Starlink low-earth orbit (LEO) operations, have launched thousands of satellites into space, while the likes of Amazon LEO, Elveo Mobile and Eutelsat OneWeb try to keep pace with Musk’s company.

The most contentious topic being debated currently is the apparent intention of Starlink Mobile to leverage its LEO constellation and the spectrum it has recently acquired to compete directly with the US market’s MNOs by launching its own consumer cellular service – see Musk’s Starlink plots small cell rollout to rival US mobile operators.

The plan sparked various levels of debate about the potential role of satellite players in the cellular services market and elicited reaction from senior telco executives, with AT&T’s Stankey stating only days ago that Starlink’s small cell-based plan is “not viable” from an economic or technology perspective.    

- James Pearce, Editor, TelecomTV