AT&T to boost wireless broadband speeds
AT&T has announced plans to double the speed of its wireless broadband network by rolling out HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) technology. AT&T’s current UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) 3G network tops out at 3.6Mbps, but moving to HSPA promises peak data speeds of 7.2Mbps – although real world speeds will of course be lower than that.
AT&T plans to complete the network upgrade by 2011, but also plans to begin LTE (Long-Term Evolution) trials in 2010, with deployment beginning in 2011. LTE, which will also be adopted by Verizon, is a 4G technology that is expected to become a global standard and promises peak download speeds of at least 50Mbps. AT&T will introduce multiple HSPA 7.2-compatible laptop cards and smartphones beginning later this year.
On top of the announcement to upgrade to HSPA and eventually LTE, AT&T also plans to double its 850MHz spectrum to most metropolitan areas, deploy around 2,100 new cell sites across the country, and add around 20 additional metro areas to their existing network covering nearly 350 US major metropolitan areas. Moreover, Wi-Fi coverage will be increased and many AT&T smartphones will be able to switch seamlessly between 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity.
[AT&T]
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