AT&T Wireless Still Needs To Deploy 3G In Four Cities
Yesterday we noted that AT&T Wireless might be off the hook for their obligation to start up 4 cities with 3G service, as promised to investor DoCoMo. No such luck, apparently. The obligation still stands, and AT&T Wireless is responsible for lighting up 4 cities with 3G by the end of the year - or they owe NTT DoCoMo back the entire $6 billion. Cingular is apparently quite aware of the obligation, but says it's up to AT&T Wireless to fulfill it prior to the close of the merger. Of course, they haven't even named the cities yet, so they've got some work to do. Derek adds: To learn more about the AWE 3G obligations to DoCoMo, click here. By the way, I still think those obligations are moot. While AWE should continue to act under the terms of that deal, Cingular is going to enter into detailed negotiations with DoCoMo long before that deadline, and the 3G obligation will be on the table. At this point, DoCoMo couldn't care less about it, so long as they get their $$$. Why would they care? They have idicated they will sell their stake to Cingular, and there are no roaming or scale economies because the flavor of 3G that AWE will pilot is UMTS at 1,900MHz, NOT at all compatible with DoCoMo's FOMA. The obligations are just a bargaining chip for DoCoMo.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: 3g
