US telecom giant AT&T (T) has opened its New Year’s account by offering blazing fast 3G network to its customers. The carrier has completed the software upgrade across its nationwide 3G cell sites that enable the deployment of the 3G HSPA 7.2 network. This follows the announcement of T-mobile USA, the US subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom (DT), which has reportedly launched its own HSPA 7.2 network nationwide.
AT&T has already begun network deployments in six US cities – Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami, which will enable theoretical download speeds of up to 7.2 megabits per second (Mbps), double the existing network speeds. However, practical average downlink speeds may reach up to 5.5 Mbps.
The company targets deploying the 3G HSPA 7.2 network in 25 largest US cities by the end of 2010 with plans to cover roughly 90% of its 3G network footprint by 2011.
The software upgrade at 3G cell sites has enhanced backhaul capability which combined with the HSPA 7.2 technology enables faster network throughput. AT&T is expanding fiber-optic backhaul connection to 3G cell sites (“fiber-to-the-cell”) to ensure its customers can take full advantage of the HSPA 7.2 deployments by the end of 2010. The company recently suffered serious network traffic congestion as a result of high-bandwidth demand on its network due to excessive data usage by iPhone customers.
AT&T’s extensive nationwide 3G network has already covered around 370 US cities. To further increase network throughput, the company is preparing for field trials of 4G Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”) network (capable of delivering peak speeds of 100 Mbps) with commercial launch expected in 2011.
AT&T competes head-to-head with its archrival Verizon (VZ) in next-generation network advancements. The company’s initiative to deploy the 3G HSPA 7.2 network represents an initial response to Verizon’s aggressive rollout plans of 4G LTE network through 2010. Moreover, the other major rival Sprint Nextel (S) is progressing well in the deployment of its 4G WiMax mobile broadband network.
The advancement to HSPA 7.2 will significantly benefit AT&T’s exisiting and upcoming high-end smartphones. The company currently markets 10 HSPA 7.2 compatible devices including Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 3GS with more devices to follow in 2010. The higher network speeds enabled by the HSPA 7.2 deployments will effectively address the increasing high bandwidth demand to support advanced data applications.
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