US regulator the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will approve the use of the 2.3GHz Wireless Communication Services (WCS) band for LTE services, reports Wireless Week – paving the way for AT&T to expand its 4G capacity.

FCC chairman Julius Genachowski’s office said the agency would vote for the necessary changes in the WCS rules at an open meeting on 17 October.

The changes will open up 30MHz of spectrum for use for mobile broadband while protecting satellite radio operations in the same band, as laid out by a proposal by AT&T and satellite radio network provider Sirius XM submitted in the summer.

The US number-two currently uses the 700MHz band for its LTE service, but the use of the WCS spectrum would add useful capacity in built-up areas.

AT&T vice president of federal regulatory affairs Joan Marsh said in a statement that the use of LTE on the band “will help AT&T meet the exploding demand for advanced mobile broadband”.

AT&T has been unable to use its WCS spectrum despite owning it for years due to the FCC’s rules saying the band was unsuitable for LTE deployment. The company requested a change in the rules in 2010, submitting a joint proposal with Sirius XM in June this year.

AT&T recently has also been acquiring WCS spectrum from a range of sources including through the US$600 million acquisition of NextWave in August.