AT&T backs FCC Chairman Martin’s open access position on 700Mhz spectrum

We might just have to re-evaluate our position on AT&T (NYSE: T) as a stuffy, old corporate wireless carrier. Just as we started to think that AT&T didn’t care about their customers’ best interests, they go and do something like this. Last Thursday, the leading US wireless carrier completely flip-flopped on their initial position on FCC Chairman Martin’s open access proposal for the new 700Mhz spectrum. AT&T VP Jim Cicconi said that the company fully supports the proposal to ban device-locking practices on the new slice of frequency spectrum.

Strange, the company that brought us the iPhone completely locked to AT&T, would now go against industry protests and actually endorse the open access proposal. Maybe that Congressional sub-committee into mobile phone bundling had something to do with it? We don’t care, we just want an open 700Mhz band - preferably through Google (NSDQ: GOOG) (we’re still suspicious of AT&T controlling the new band, given how poorly they developed their current holdings).

[Via: PhoneScoop]