Ok…so let’s just get this right out-of-the-way. The reason Verizon uses spectrum twice as efficiently as T-Mobile is because their network goes out every other day. It’s easy to be spectrum efficient with a LTE network that hardly works. Ok, stupid joke over. Anyway…
With T-Mobile already launching the first salvo in what will inevitably be a back and forth has now found a first Verizon response via Verizon’s policy blog. In a post on Verizon’s policy blog, Charla Rath, VP of wireless policy development explains that Verizon is twice as efficient with its spectrum than T-Mobile. According to Rath’s post, Verizon serves 109 million customers with an average of 88Mhz, while T-Mobile serves 33 million with just 50MHz. In other words, Verizon serves 1.2 million customers per megahertz while T-Mobile serves just 660,000.
While the blog post clearly has a number of pats on the back for Verizon’s “impressive” LTE rollout, they obviously don’t agree with T-Mobile’s positions. Rath continues to write that T-Mobile “fails to mention that it will be gaining 10-20 megahertz of AWS spectrum covering 40 percent of the population of the U.S. as a result of its break-up deal with AT&T, giving it spectrum in some areas on par with Verizon and other competitors.” Touche?
Rath ends with a thought on how American wireless customers face a spectrum crunch that still won’t see relief even if Verizon’s spectrum purchase is approved. Verizon puts the onus on the industry and policymakers to work to make sure more spectrum reaches the marketplace. As a final middle finger to T-Mobile, Rath concludes “I’m sure T-Mobile would agree” with that.