Overview
- AT&T activated EchoStar’s 3.45 GHz mid-band on nearly 23,000 cell sites across more than 5,300 cities in 48 states after a weeks-long rollout.
- The company reports download gains up to 80% for mobile users and up to 55% for AT&T Internet Air home internet.
- The spectrum is integrated under a short-term spectrum manager lease, with service enhancements already live nationwide excluding Alaska and Hawaii.
- AT&T says the added capacity will support Internet Air expansion, propel growth of converged subscribers, and reduce the need for new cell-site builds.
- FirstNet users receive the same spectrum benefits with always-on priority and preemption, and AT&T casts the move as complementing its 5G standalone and Open RAN efforts.