The Federal Communications Commission has approved a plan jointly devised by AT&T (T -1.16%) and Sirius XM Radio (SIRI -4.11%) to resolve difficulties arising from the proximity of some of their respective spectrum assets, AT&T reported in a statement.The government regulator approved the plan unanimously.
AT&T has held 30 Mhz in the so-called Wireless Communications Service spectrum for years but has been unable to exploit it because of potential interference with the satellite-radio frequencies it surrounds, such as those Sirius owns. Under the compromise plan, first proposed this past summer, AT&T would use only 20 Mhz, allowing for a substantial buffer between its assets and those of Sirius.
Once the spectrum is freed, AT&T will use it for deployment of LTE, the next generation of high-speed wireless data transfer services.
