AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon have signed a joint venture agreement aimed at expanding mobile coverage in underserved parts of the U.S., the companies said today. The venture is intended to nearly wipe out dead zones where customers currently get no service, and to make satellite connectivity simpler across providers.
Paul Roth will run the venture as interim CEO while the partners search for a permanent leader, according to the announcement. Roth is a wireless industry veteran whose prior roles include leadership positions at AT&T, Cingular Wireless and Ameritech. A board with representatives from each of the three founding carriers will manage the joint venture.
The announcement follows a May commitment by the three companies to pool limited spectrum resources, with the stated goals of eliminating coverage dead zones and expanding satellite coverage for customers nationwide. The new agreement turns that plan into a formal corporate structure, though the announcement does not disclose the venture's name, ownership split or financial terms.
For customers, the partners say the venture will deliver more consistent network performance and easier access to satellite services, and that redundant connectivity will be available when ground-based networks fail during extreme natural disasters or other unusual disruptions. The companies also say combined investment will expand provider options, starting with improvements to direct-to-device access, which they describe as a step that will enhance competition as consumer choices grow in satellite service.
The venture is also meant to bring industry-level changes. A unified technical approach is expected to give customers a more consistent experience across the industry, and a standards-based development effort involving operating system providers, app developers and device makers is intended to improve how satellite networks work with phones. Rural mobile network operators would get help bringing new products to market, and the partners say more satellite providers will have chances to compete, invest and grow.
Existing carrier-satellite agreements stay in place, and each of the three carriers can keep pursuing connectivity efforts on its own, according to the announcement. Terrestrial mobile networks will continue to serve customers as they do now, with the venture focused on areas where traditional cell service is a challenge.
The joint venture marks an unusual level of cooperation among the three national carriers, which compete directly for subscribers. What the announcement leaves open is how quickly the promised coverage improvements will reach customers, since no timeline, launch markets or service pricing were included.
