From: johnl@iecc.com

>> That has everything to do with frequencies.  AT&T (GSM) and Verizon
>> (CDMA) are mostly at 800MHz, while T-Mo (GSM) and Sprint (CDMA) are
>> at 1900 MHz.
>
>All the carriers have space in both blocks in various places around the
>country, due to the rather messy spectrum auction process and M&A
>activity over the years.

Believe me, Sprint and T-Mo would love to get 800 spectrum, but it was
all handed out long before they were around.  T and VZ are the
corporate descendants of the telcos that got most of the 800 spectrum.
Some places T-Mo got 700 MHz in recent auctions, some places, like
here, they didn't.

>> The 800 MHz carriers have much better coverage because 800
>> propagates better than 1900.
>
>For cellular networks, that's not necessarily a good thing.  Ideally,
>you'd use 1800/1900 for small, urban cells and 800/900 for umbrella or
>rural cells.  But that's not how FCC spectrum auctions work.

No kidding.  Around here, what we need is just plain more cells,
regardless of band.  Doesn't matter what frequency a tower uses if
it's on the other side of a hill.

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