T-Mobile, which has filed a flurry of documents to the FCC to bolster its position that wireless services offered in AWS-3 spectrum will adversely affect the services its customers receive on AWS-1 spectrum, has just submitted additional documentation to the commission that it says further substantiates its case. The documents, which T-Mobile shared with FierceWirelessBroadband, represent the company's second move in less than a week to persuade the FCC against proceeding with its plans to auction AWS-3 spectrum for a nationwide network. The documents are also T-Mobile's latest move against M2Z Networks, which wants to offer a nationwide service via AWS-3 spectrum.
T-Mobile's new filing, submitted on Tuesday, presents results of a network simulation and statistical analysis that was conducted by Optimi Corp. on behalf of T-Mobile. The results of the study, T-Mobile said, support the findings from recent FCC tests in Seattle confirming that AWS-3 services cause harmful interference to mobile devices in the AWS-1 band. AT&T, CTIA, MetroPCS and Nokia Siemens Networks have concurred with T-Mobile that the tests proved interference. The FCC is not providing any interpretation of those tests while it proceeds with its AWS-3 rulemaking, though it has published the raw data.
The new Optimi study, T-Mobile said, is important because it employed the same types of research methods used by two firms, ERA Technology in the UK and Alion Science and Technology in the U.S., whose research M2Z has used to support its claims that AWS-3 and AWS-1 services can coexist. Yet in its new filing, T-Mobile argues the ERA and Alion studies were limited in scope and flawed because they didn't consider some important real-world conditions. T-Mobile's more extensive study, the company said, proves interference would be real, serious, and highly likely.
M2Z has not filed responses to these two latest filings from T-Mobile.
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