Advanced Wireless Services
Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) is a wireless telecommunications spectrum band used for mobile voice and data services, video, and messaging. AWS is used in the United States, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela. It replaces some of the spectrum formerly allocated to Multipoint Multichannel Distribution Service (MMDS), sometimes referred to as Wireless Cable, that existed from 2150 to 2162 MHz.
The AWS band uses microwave frequencies in several segments: from 1695 to 2200 MHz. The service is intended to be used by mobile devices such as wireless phones for mobile voice, data, and messaging services. Most manufacturers of smartphone mobile handsets provide versions of their phones that include radios that can communicate using the AWS spectrum. Though initially limited, device support for AWS has steadily improved the longer the band has been in general use, with most high-end and many mid-range handsets supporting it over UMTS, LTE and 5G NR.
Canada[edit]
In Canada, Industry Canada held the auction for AWS spectrum in 2008.[3] Freedom Mobile (formerly Wind Mobile) had licensed AWS spectrum in every province, and began offering voice and data services on December 16, 2009. Its Saskatchewan and Manitoba spectrum was later sold off to Sasktel and MTS, respectively. Freedom only operates in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, although they have roaming agreements with Rogers, Telus and Bell at extra cost.
Mobilicity also used the AWS spectrum and began offering services in May 2010, operating in similar areas as Wind but with a smaller network footprint. Its AWS network was combined with Rogers when the latter company acquired Mobilicity in 2015.[4]
Quebecor licensed AWS spectrum throughout the province of Quebec and began offering service with its Vidéotron Mobile brand on September 9, 2010.[5]
Shaw Communications licensed AWS spectrum in western Canada and northern Ontario, began to build some infrastructure for providing wireless phone service, but subsequently decided to cancel further development and did not launch this service.[6] The licenses were eventually sold to Rogers, with some transferred to Wind.[4] Shaw re-entered the mobile services market when it acquired Wind Mobile in 2016.[7]
Halifax-based EastLink obtained licenses in eastern Canada,[8] with a small amount of spectrum bought in Ontario and Alberta, and is currently building up infrastructure to launch mobile phone and data services in Nova Scotia and PEI in 2012.[9][10] This Service has since launched and is available in numerous markets around Atlantic Canada with roaming through Rogers and Bell.
Rogers Wireless, Bell Mobility, Telus Mobility, SaskTel, and Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) all received licenses for AWS spectrum, which they are now using for their LTE networks. Freedom Mobile has subsequently refarmed some spectrum in their UMTS network and deployed LTE on bands 4, and 66.
United States[edit]
In the United States, the service is administered by the Federal Communications Commission. The licenses were broken up into 6 blocks (A-F). Block A consisted of 734 Cellular Market Areas (CMA). Blocks B and C were each divided into 176 Economic Areas (EA), sometimes referred to as BEA by the FCC. Blocks D, E, and F were each broken up into 12 Regional Economic Area Groupings (REAG), sometimes referred to as REA by the FCC.[11][12] Bidding for this new spectrum started on August 9, 2006 and the majority of the frequency blocks were sold to T-Mobile USA to deploy their 3G wireless network in the United States. This move effectively killed the former MMDS and/or Wireless Cable service in the United States.