AT&T on track to launch LTE 4G network by mid-2011, expand HSPA+ - Page 2

No doubt about it. I remember reading ATT and Verizon saying they intend to take their time rolling out 4G, so LTE will be here for iPhone 6 as well most likely.

Speeds so damn fast that
data returns back on it self .
and google bots die off by the trillions.

Verizon will build it and THEN clock the while damn shebang 20 percent slower .

Do we really need to DL So many G's on phones ??
Oh yea i missed my TV show last night and I wanna See it on my commuter train. So a 7g DL is a must .

I wonder how fast the French high speed trains are ??

9

They did promise to invest billions on to their network and so far iam receiving better reception on my 3GS, so promise completed.

With such low data caps of 2GB, there's definitely going to be some hubbub about carriers nickel-and-diming customers to death. Especially when you can easily exceed that in no time with faster download and upload speeds with 4G.

I hope they also don't raise the monthly rate just because it's "faster". But if the 3G rates are anything to go by, they probably will raise data plan rates another $10 a month. It's a reasonable trade-off if they have a higher data cap (maybe 5GB), but otherwise, it's definitely a no-go.

OTOH, I am loving AT&T's reception. I used to rely on T-Mobile, and ever since they switched to 3G, my phone has been getting crappier reception than usual (probably because most of their frequencies are in the higher range, which tend to be less effective indoors). My iPad has saved my butt multiple times when my phone just wouldn't work because T-Mobile had bad reception (the only good reception I get is in Irvine, seemingly).

LTE already matters to people where it's deployed. It's just not deployed in the US much. The iPhone is distributed world-wide,not just in the USA.

Chicago is too big to be a testing location.

I used to live in Syracuse NY, which is a small city. It was used by many companies as a test for consumer products and services. For example, they were one of the first to get MTV - I watched the Buggles video when they premiered.

Typically, expensive campaigns are not tested in huge markets.

No it does not, Rude Boy.

Apple chose not to go with 3G because the US government had an indefinite ban on the import of 3G chips in 2006 and 2007 due to a patent suit and Apple could not afford to delay the iPhone launch in the US since they did not have a global presence yet.

The situation with LTE is similar but different. There are currently no suitable LTE chips. No one has launched LTE handsets, and that is why Verizon will not have LTE handsets until mid 2011, even though the network will be live in 30 cities 6 months earlier. If Apple wants to keep the June release date they need to make a decision very soon (if not already) if they think the chips will be available in quantity in time for an iPhone 5 launch. On the flip side, they also have to decide if they can afford to wait until June 2012 when all of their competitors will be marketing 4G phones by late 2011.

I would not be shocked to see the iPhone 5 release pushed back a few months, or the iPhone 6 to be pushed up well before June 2012.


AT&T has been upgrading their 3G towers to LTE ready equipment. They will be able to roll out LTE much much quicker than Verizon if they want to, and I expect they will be highly motivated. They already spent over $10 billion on additional frequency licenses alone, and billions more in tower prep and they will want to see a return on that investment as soon as practical. It is no coincidence that they are waiting to turn things on until the handsets are available, since there is little point to a network without devices. Don't take the delay relative to Verizon's 2010 rollout to mean they will move slower or have a smaller footprint in Q3 2011. I would not be shocked to see AT&T have LTE on 90% or more of their current 3G towers by late 2011, early 2012.

It will come down to power consumption. Just like the original iPhone was EDGE only until a chipset that supported 3G and didn't require a small thermonuclear reactor to last more than a day was available.

I don't think there will be much of a delay in power efficient chips. I think it was obvious that the baseband chipset providers weren't used to having to squeeze every last milliwatt out of their chips since cell phones were pretty simple compared to the iPhone. But the iPhone turned that on it's head and suddenly the spotlight was thrust on them. I doubt that will happen with any provider of an LTE chipset - but you never know.

If there is a delay, it will because of either power consumption or physical size requirements, or both. But power is the BIG one since it affects every other aspect of the phone in such a critical way.

Exactly - even if there were power efficient LTE chips, the current 3G standards are more mature and faster compared to the initial versions of LTE.

AT&T, even if they sat on their hands with LTE, will still best Verizon in speed for years to come. As someone who values data far more than phone calls, AT&T beats the pants off of Verizon for my needs.

I'm curious - other than 4G being one number higher than 3G, what is it about 4G that you want?

Or another way, what do you think 4G is going to get you over 3G?