AT&T takes issue with Sprint using roaming agreements in place of own network

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Sprint Voice Coverage shift March 2012

AT&T has started a war of words with Sprint over the smaller carrier's decision to use roaming agreements for coverage instead of its own network in parts of Oklahoma and Kansas. AT&T says that Sprint is taking unfair advantage of a new policy enacted by the Federal Communications Commission that allows carriers to use roaming agreements in place of their own infrastructure in areas where they own spectrum.

AT&T seems to have an argument here based on the notion that a carrier should use up all of its available spectrum before it uses roaming agreements to supplement coverage. In the areas in question, Sprint's actual coverage will be significantly less than it was previously, forcing its users to roam on other networks for both data and voice coverage. AT&T claims that this allows Sprint to use other companies' investments for its own purposes, instead of building out its own network to provide coverage.

Sprint was quick to fire a chip back at AT&T in its own statement:

It's disappointing, but not surprising, that AT&T wants to challenge a consumer's right to access email, the Internet and other mobile broadband services wherever they may travel in the U.S. Along with Verizon Wireless, AT&T is the only other wireless carrier in America which opposes the FCC's pro-consumer data roaming decision from last year.

The facts are that Sprint, as part of its Network Vision program, doubled its 2011 capital investment over 2010 to make tens of thousands of capacity upgrades, resulting in a better wireless experience for its customers. With these network investments, Sprint continues to offer consumers a better value than AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.

AT&T says that the new FCC rules that allow Sprint to make this move with its network are due to be debated in front of an appeals court later this year, and it is hopeful that they will get overturned. Of course, Sprint will be certainly making the counter argument (and it is likely other rural carriers will as well), so this is sure to turn into quite the cat fight in court. [AT&T via The Verge]

Sprint Data Coverage shift March 2012