AT&T is seeking to borrow $14 billion dollars to help finance the cost of acquiring 5G airwaves in a competitive auction that has drawn heavy bidding from wireless carriers.

The phone company is in talks with Bank of America to provide a one-year term loan that will likely be refinanced in the bond market and paid off over several years.

AT&T’s loan follows news that T-Mobile USA borrowed $3 billion from investors for its own 5G spectrum acquisitions.

The FCC expects to collect more than $80.8 billion from the auction of 280 megahertz of spectrum around 3.7-3.98 GHz—a portion of the satellite C-band. This is the FCC’s largest mid-band 5G spectrum auction to date. Analysts were expecting bids of around $47 billion, but wireless carriers seem motivated to grab as much 5G spectrum as possible.

AT&T’s loan will add to the company’s existing $159 billion in debts, making it the world’s largest non-financial corporate borrower. Much of AT&T’s debt came from its 2018 $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, Inc.

Cable internet customers connecting to Spectrum’s large national network of Wi-Fi hotspots may have to make some adjustments on their mobile devices to keep those connections working.

CableWiFi® is a partnership between Altice USA, Comcast/Xfinity, Cox Communications and Charter/Spectrum allowing their internet customers to share access to those four cable operators’ extensive Wi-Fi hotspot networks while on the go. Once configured, customers coming in range of one will automatically connect, protecting their mobile data allowance.

For years, customers traveling outside of their own cable company’s service area typically connected to “CableWiFi” to access the service. But Spectrum is now dropping support for that and requiring customers to take additional steps to maintain their connection:

In order to connect to the same networks outside of the Spectrum Internet® service area, you will need the Spectrum Internet WiFi profile installed on your compatible device(s).

To install the Spectrum Internet WiFi profile on Android and iOS devices, download the My Spectrum App from the Play Store or App Store and follow the instructions in the app. To download the profile on MacOS devices, click here. A profile for Windows PCs is coming soon.

Visit the Spectrum Out-of-Home WiFi page for additional information.

This profile will also automatically connect Spectrum customers to XFINITY (Comcast’s Wi-Fi) and AlticeWiFi (in Altice USA’s service area). We are uncertain if this will also work with those traveling inside Cox’s service area.

More detailed instructions are also available from a special Spectrum web page.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. communications regulator on Wednesday approved a plan to allow a growing number of wireless devices to use part of a spectrum previously set aside for automakers to develop methods for vehicles to communicate with each other, a decision that the Transportation Department warned could result in “thousands of accidents.”

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 5-0 to split the spectrum block set aside for auto safety. Over the objections of automakers and some U.S. agencies, the FCC decision finalized a plan announced last year to divide a block of the 5.9 GHz spectrum band that was reserved in 1999 for automakers to develop technology called DSRC, but has so far gone largely unused. Under today’s decision, a 45 MHz portion of the band — 5.850GHz to 5.895GHz will be reallocated to unlicensed Wi-Fi services and made available for consumer use. Consumers may have to purchase new equipment to take advantage of the new frequencies.

45 MHz of the wireless auto band, shown in green, will join the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band shown in blue. Automakers will still be able to use 30 MHz of frequencies from 5.895-5.925 GHz.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said there is “a pressing need for us to allocate additional spectrum” for Wi-Fi, noting the coronavirus pandemic underscored “consumers need access and more bandwidth to be able to engage in telework, remote learning, telehealth, and other broadband-related services.”

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao had warned the FCC decision could result in “thousands more deaths annually on road and millions more injuries than would be the case otherwise.”

Major cable, telecom and content companies back the FCC proposal to open most of the spectrum band to Wi-Fi use.

Comcast Corp praised the FCC vote, saying Wi-Fi is “central to American homes, schools, and workplaces and carries more broadband traffic than all other wireless technologies combined.”

Automakers favor using the spectrum for developing technology to allow vehicles to exchange data about location, speed and direction.

House of Representatives Transportation Committee chairman Peter DeFazio called the decision “a gift to corporate interests at the expense of public safety,” adding it “will undermine decades of development and over a billion public dollars that the transportation community has invested in these technologies.”

The technology has previously been offered on just one General Motors Co vehicle. Government studies have suggested that, if widely adopted among, it could prevent at least 600,000 U.S. crashes annually.

GM said “the FCC has moved towards jeopardizing roadway safety.”

The FCC plans to transition the upper 30 megahertz from DSRC to enable a different automotive communications technology called Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything and use the other 45 megahertz for wireless use. Safety advocates question if the new technology will work.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

T-Mobile is widening its wireless home broadband pilot program to cover more than 20 million additional underserved and unserved households in 130 communities in parts of nine states.

“Home broadband has been broken for far too long, especially for those in rural areas, and it’s time that cable and telco ISPs have some competition,” said Dow Draper, T-Mobile executive vice president of Emerging Products. “We’ve already brought T-Mobile Home Internet access to millions of customers who have been underserved by the competition. But we’re just getting started. As we’ve seen in our first few months together with Sprint, our combined network will continue to unlock benefits for our customers, laying the groundwork to bring 5G to Home Internet soon.”

T-Mobile Home Internet customers currently pay $50 a month for unlimited wireless internet for their home or business, using T-Mobile’s existing 4G LTE network. To prevent cell tower saturation, T-Mobile is making the service available on a first-come, first-served basis, where coverage is eligible, based on equipment inventory and local network capacity. T-Mobile is also protecting its high-value mobile customer base by prioritizing mobile network traffic, so speeds may slow for home internet customers during times of peak cell tower usage.

The company adds that its 4G service will soon be joined by a 5G home internet service, which should increase speeds and capacity. The company claims:

• The service is self-installed, so no installation visits or charges.
• Taxes and fees included.
• No annual service contracts.
• No “introductory” price offers.
• No hardware rental or sign-up fees.
• No data caps, but network prioritization may affect speed during peak usage periods, and video streaming resolution may be limited based on available speed in your location.

Other Details:

• Pricing: $50/month with AutoPay (price includes sales tax and regulatory fees “for qualifying accounts” whatever that means, and if you don’t AutoPay, the price is $5 higher.)
• Credit approval required.
• T-Mobile will supply an LTE Wi-Fi Gateway with the service, for in-home use only at the address on the account. The gateway must be returned if you cancel service or pay $207.

List of New Cities & Towns:

Michigan

• Adrian
• Alma
• Alpena
• Ann Arbor
• Battle Creek
• Bay City
• Big Rapids
• Cadillac
• Coldwater
• Detroit-Warren-Dearborn
• Flint
• Grand Rapids-Kentwood
• Hillsdale
• Holland
• Jackson
• Kalamazoo-Portage
• Lansing-East Lansing
• Ludington
• Midland
• Monroe
• Mount Pleasant
• Muskegon
• Niles
• Saginaw
• Sault Ste. Marie
• South Bend-Mishawaka
• Sturgis
• Traverse City

Minnesota

• Albert Lea
• Alexandria
• Austin
• Bemidji
• Brainerd
• Duluth
• Fairmont
• Faribault-Northfield
• Fergus Falls
• Grand Rapids
• Hutchinson
• Mankato
• Marshall
• Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington
• New Ulm
• Owatonna
• Red Wing
• Rochester
• St. Cloud
• Willmar
• Winona
• Worthington

New York

• Binghamton
• Corning

North Dakota

• Bismarck
• Dickinson
• Jamestown
• Minot
• Williston
• Fargo
• Grand Forks
• Wahpeton

Ohio

• Akron
• Ashland
• Ashtabula
• Bucyrus-Galion
• Cambridge
• Canton-Massillon
• Cleveland-Elyria
• Coshocton
• Defiance
• Findlay
• Fremont
• Lima
• Mansfield
• Marion
• New Philadelphia-Dover
• Norwalk
• Salem
• Sandusky
• Tiffin
• Toledo
• Wooster
• Youngstown-Warren-Boardman

Pennsylvania

• Altoona
• Bloomsburg-Berwick
• Chambersburg-Waynesboro
• DuBois
• East Stroudsburg
• Erie
• Gettysburg
• Harrisburg-Carlisle
• Huntingdon
• Indiana
• Johnstown
• Lancaster
• Lebanon
• Lewisburg
• Lewistown
• Lock Haven
• Meadville
• New Castle
• Oil City
• Pittsburgh
• Pottsville
• Reading
• Sayre
• Scranton–Wilkes-Barre
• Selinsgrove
• Somerset
• St. Marys
• State College
• Sunbury
• Williamsport
• York-Hanover
• Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton

South Dakota

• Aberdeen
• Brookings
• Huron
• Mitchell
• Pierre
• Rapid City
• Sioux Falls
• Watertown
• Yankton

West Virginia

• Clarksburg
• Cumberland
• Elkins
• Morgantown
• Weirton-Steubenville
• Wheeling

Wisconsin

• Eau Claire
• La Crosse-Onalaska
• Menomonie
• Wisconsin Rapids-Marshfield

T-Mobile Home Internet: This company supplied video explains how the service works. (1:15)

The FCC is likely to delay for up to two years a massive $9 billion subsidy program that will provide 5G wireless service in rural America because the agency’s broadband coverage maps are too flawed to credibly determine where the money is needed.

The delay is just the latest in a series of speed bumps that have slowed down rural wireless service expansion, hampered mostly by service coverage maps that typically over-promise service that just doesn’t exist in many areas.

A revised subsidy program would double the funds available for rural wireless service, but delay projects at least 18-24 months, with the first awards granted sometime in late 2022.

The wireless subsidy program is designed to enhance rural wireless/mobile coverage across the United States. The FCC estimates about 83% of rural America is currently covered by 4G LTE service providing an average of 10/3 Mbps. In urban and suburban communities, 97% of areas have 4G coverage and often at faster speeds. Small, independent wireless carriers have popped up to serve rural states and regions that have been ignored by AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, but coverage gaps still remain far from well-traveled interstate highways or in mountainous regions. Carriers have typically considered those areas unprofitable to serve, failing Return On Investment formulas that expect investments to pay off within a certain number of years. Wireless subsidies cover a portion of the cost to build and operate unprofitable rural cell towers, coaxing wireless companies to be more willing to expand coverage.

The ongoing problem of wireless coverage accuracy has had a direct impact on rural funding programs that have rules forbidding spending in areas that already have coverage. Wireless companies with overeager marketing departments have routinely issued coverage maps claiming solid 4G LTE coverage in areas where many claim it doesn’t exist. The conflict over accurate coverage maps became so contentious, the FCC canceled plans to spend billions on wireless subsidies in late 2019 until more accurate coverage maps could be created.

Next week the FCC plans a vote to authorize the new $9 billion subsidy program, but funds will likely be held until wireless companies can prove their coverage claims and update coverage information so the FCC can pinpoint areas that can qualify for the funds.

“This approach won’t be the fastest possible path,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wrote. “But it will allow us to identify with greater precision those areas of the country where support is most needed.”