FCC Requests Additional Information on AT&T/DirecTV Deal

AT&T needs to submit additional information by Monday on its proposed buy of DirecTV, including verifying that the population and density calculations for the one-square-mile areas that the telco submitted Oct. 7 are accurate, the FCC said Monday. AT&T’s Oct. 7 calculations don’t “correlate appropriately when the geographic unit of the grid is fixed at one-square mile,” the FCC said. AT&T also needs to clarify the accuracy of other data it submitted, including data on fixed wireless local loop (FWLL) coverage “in areas where no cell site is identified and cell sites where no FWLL coverage is identified,” the FCC said. The telco should provide further data explanations of several other aspects of its FWLL deployment, including its plans for sharing mobile spectrum with any spectrum proposed for the FWLL deployment and identify possible spectrum bands for the FWLL deployment, the FCC said. AT&T also needs to provide a definition of “cell edge” that includes signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio and link budget, the FCC said. AT&T is "collecting the data requested and will respond shortly," a spokesman said.