AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon are officially teaming up to kill dead zones

Back in May, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon announced plans to form a joint venture to tackle one of the biggest problems in mobile coverage: dead zones. At the time, the carriers had only an agreement in principle. That’s no longer the case: the partnership is actually moving forward now.

The carrier giants announced that they’ve collectively entered into a joint venture agreement to tackle dead zones in underserved areas across the US. As a byproduct, the partnership aims to drive industry progress by fostering competition and innovation.

The joint venture has already named an interim CEO, with a search ongoing for a permanent CEO. A board of representatives from each carrier will manage the project. There’s no official name for the partnership just yet.

The basic idea behind the effort hasn’t changed. All three carriers will continue their individual operations as always, all while collaborating to serve areas where traditional cell service might be a challenge. According to the big three, together they will “nearly” eliminate dead zones across the US and provide reliable connectivity in cases of emergency.

A big part of the joint effort will involve direct-to-device satellite connectivity, with the carriers pooling their limited spectrum resources. According to the venture, this should result in more consistent performance and simpler access to satellite services.

This should also make it easier to bring new satellite features to more devices and roll out updates more quickly. The joint venture will also work with rural mobile network operators, giving them a path to bringing new products to market for their customers.

Elsewhere, the big three also want to establish common tech specifications for satellite services, which should eventually make it easier for device makers and services to offer satellite connectivity in a unified manner.

There’s no firm timeline for when these benefits will actually start reaching existing customers and those in areas with patchy or no network. Still, the progress from an agreement in principle to a formal joint venture is a notable step forward.