AT&T in no rush to build out 4G network

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple's exclusive iPhone wireless carrier AT&T said this week it's in no hurry to begin deploying a fourth-generation wireless network, as it believes there's two to three years of "runway" left in its current and future 3G technologies.



Speaking at the 4G Executive Summit on Tuesday, AT&T's VP of Architecture Hank Kafka downplayed any perceived urgency on the part of the carrier to push out a 4G network based on LTE, or the so-called Long Term Evolution standard.



He said AT&T's existing HSPA 3G network already offers a superior mobile broadband experience to that of its primary rival Verizon, whose EV-DO technology sports a limited future.



“HSPA is more economical for carriers to deploy,” Kafka said, adding that the extendibility of the technology offers the ability for smooth transitions to new technology, such as his firm's upcoming 20Mbps HSPA+ 3G network planned for sometime next year.



The exec also cited the iPhone as a device that has only just begun to open the eyes of consumers to mobile broadband and its inherit internet capabilities.



When asked specifically about his company's 4G plans, Kafka reportedly danced around the subject, saying he couldn't provide a concrete answer because specifications for such technology aren't yet finalized.



“Future evolutions may meet 4G requirements, but for now, true 4G technologies don’t exist because the requirements haven’t been defined,” he said. 




With that said, Kafka added that he’d be surprised if LTE wasn’t significantly available "within five years." In the meantime, AT&T has about two to three years of "runway left with HSPA and HSPA-plus," he told the summit.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 41
    larz2112larz2112 Posts: 291member
    AT&T has a bit of work to do on their 3G network, let alone 4G. Folks I know that have the 3G iPhone can't even get 3G service most of the time... in Austin, TX, which should be an area that 3G service is reliable. I've got a 1G iPhone and my reception over the past couple of months has been horrible... incoming calls not registering, dropped calls, poor reception, you name it.



    Considering their mammoth ad campaign about "more bars in more places", maybe AT&T should focus all their energies on making good on that claim.
  • Reply 2 of 41
    bloggerblogbloggerblog Posts: 2,462member
    Earlier this week Sprint launched the first 4G in Baltimore, and soon it will arrive in Virginia and DC. Although here in DC I'm satisfied with the availability of 3G however, it could be better. Like Larz said ATT should focus on a better user experience. I personally think 3G is fast enough (1.2 to 1.7 Mbits), it's the signal that makes it seem flaky and slow.

    I've tried my friends Verizon's 3G AirCard on my PowerBook, and it felt as fast as a WiFi g network. It was quite impressive, keep in mind Verizon's 3G is actually slower than ATT's maxing out at 1.2 compared to ATT's 1.7Mbits.



    My conclusion is ATT must focus on user experience and widening their Network, adding towers and strengthening signals.
  • Reply 3 of 41
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Larz2112 View Post


    AT&T has a bit of work to do on their 3G network, let alone 4G. Folks I know that have the 3G iPhone can't even get 3G service most of the time... in Austin, TX, which should be an area that 3G service is reliable. I've got a 1G iPhone and my reception over the past couple of months has been horrible... incoming calls not registering, dropped calls, poor reception, you name it.



    Considering their mammoth ad campaign about "more bars in more places", maybe AT&T should focus all their energies on making good on that claim.



    Agreed. AT&T is pathetic.
  • Reply 4 of 41
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    I'm not surprised. The cost of LTE is great and with the economy taking a turn for the worse here recently it makes sense for ATT to hold onto their cash.



    This could be a great benefit for Sprint/Clearwire. They may be able to get their WiMax network entrenched with users before Verizon and ATT are able to roll out their LTE networks. I look forward to reviews of mobile WiMax in the Baltimore area. I hope it lives up to its hype.



    If Apple were smart they would develop an iPhone that works on the WiMax network.
  • Reply 5 of 41
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    The economy will surely put the kibosh on most upgrade plans, and although I personally would like WiMax to roll out quicker to take advantage of these delays, I just haven't been seeing the kind of leadership needed to do this by Clearwire or the group they are allied with.



    In other news AAPL looks like it might drop below the psychological barrier of $100 today. OMG things are not looking good. I am totally opposed to this bail-out and I'm certain it will destroy our economy, or plunge us into a decade-long depression if it goes through. For the sake of our country, PLEASE contact your Congressional representatives to voice your opposition.
  • Reply 6 of 41
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I say skip it and go to 5G now
  • Reply 7 of 41
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    I am totally opposed to this bail-out and I'm certain it will destroy our economy, or plunge us into a decade-long depression if it goes through. For the sake of our country, PLEASE contact your Congressional representatives to voice your opposition.



    Why do you think that the TARP legislation will cause a depression?



    Rampant inflation, maybe but depression?
  • Reply 8 of 41
    bdkennedy1bdkennedy1 Posts: 1,459member
    Superior to Verizon maybe, but crap to everyone else.



    They can't even get 3G right and it's been out for years.
  • Reply 9 of 41
    aduzikaduzik Posts: 94member
    Uh, AT&T is in no rush to build out their 3G network, near as I can tell. I live in a city of over half a million people and we still don't have 3G coverage here. 4G is a complete fantasy at this point.
  • Reply 10 of 41
    I live in a city with about 250K, and 450k in the metro area, and AT&T 3G is rock solid. Why move to 4G when so many don't have 3G yet. I say get 3G for everyone rock solid first.
  • Reply 11 of 41
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member
    I'm more interested in Verizon's plans. How are they going to transition from EV-DO (which still uses their 2G CDMA network for voice) to LTE? Who will want to make CDMA+LTE dual modem phones? It's not like they can instantly switch on an entire LTE network nationwide.
  • Reply 12 of 41
    I haven't had a single dropped call since the 2.1 update. And I live in the worst 3G coverage area in Richmond, VA.
  • Reply 13 of 41
    dsheldshel Posts: 16member
    AT & T's 3G Network is very narrow and spotty. It certainly doesn't have the coverage Verizon does. They should finish 3G properly before they strap on a 4G attempt!
  • Reply 14 of 41
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Larz2112 View Post


    AT&T has a bit of work to do on their 3G network, let alone 4G. Folks I know that have the 3G iPhone can't even get 3G service most of the time... in Austin, TX, which should be an area that 3G service is reliable. I've got a 1G iPhone and my reception over the past couple of months has been horrible... incoming calls not registering, dropped calls, poor reception, you name it.

    Considering their mammoth ad campaign about "more bars in more places", maybe AT&T should focus all their energies on making good on that claim.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bloggerblog View Post


    My conclusion is ATT must focus on user experience and widening their Network, adding towers and strengthening signals.



    You guys are both on target. Although Verizon's EV-DO 3G network loses out to AT&T's HSPA network on maximum speed when they both have excellent signals, the fact remains that Verizon's 3G rollout is *much* more extensive than AT&T, with excellent coverage throughout not just the largest metropolitan areas, but nearly every small and medium sized city, and surrounding suburbs. AT&T has been building it out at a feverish pace, but they are still far behind Verizon, especially in most suburban/rural areas. They need to spend their resources on infrastructure and not on the stupid marketing.



    Besides, they haven't even come close to maxing out HSDPA/HSUPA speeds, and they still have the rollout of "HSPA+" / "evolved HSPA" to complete before the transition to 4G. HSPA+ is a pretty easy upgrade for the tower, but phones have to have a new chipset to support it (it uses multiple antennae MIMO tech), so perhaps the next iPhone will do so. Since AT&T's HSPA+ network will reach up to 20mbps speeds, it should last them a while. However, besides just taking connection speeds through the roof, a major benefit of the upcoming LTE "4G" standards will be in vastly increased network capacity.. I wouldn't be surprised if it was network congestion in dense urban areas that ultimately give them the final push ahead to 4G and not phone download speeds. I have no details about their network, but from all the reports of iPhone 3G users, it appears their network capacity is being maxed out in areas. Now, whether that was solely a result of the rumored iPhone firmware bugs, or something AT&T can easily correct by increasing the backhaul bandwidth from the towers, I don't really know.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by backtomac View Post


    I'm not surprised. The cost of LTE is great and with the economy taking a turn for the worse here recently it makes sense for ATT to hold onto their cash. This could be a great benefit for Sprint/Clearwire. They may be able to get their WiMax network entrenched with users before Verizon and ATT are able to roll out their LTE networks. I look forward to reviews of mobile WiMax in the Baltimore area. I hope it lives up to its hype.

    If Apple were smart they would develop an iPhone that works on the WiMax network.



    You've been pulled into the hype. Besides the fact that Sprint won't have anywhere near the coverage of even AT&T's 3G network for at least another 24+ months (and not even close to Verizon's 3G EVDO), the fact remains that their mobile Wimax is not performing anywhere near what most people would consider "4G" speeds. Sprint says customers should see speeds between 1.5-3.0Mbps download and 0.5-1.5Mbps upload. Now that certainly isn't terrible, but even in the best scenario, it's not a whole lot faster than what AT&T (and verizon) have been offering for years (AT&T's UMTS network is currently offering speeds of 0.7 - 2.0mbps download and 0.5 - 1.2mbps upload per AT&T's website) and they are currently upgrading their network to faster speeds (7.2mbps). They said in 2009, they will be moving to HSPA+ aka Evolved HSPA which will take the existing 3G network up to a theoretical max of ~20mbps. Even if users only saw average speeds of 1/3 of that, it would be noticeably faster than Sprint's "4G-ish" WiMax network!
  • Reply 15 of 41
    It sounds good to me that AT&T is going to focus on getting their 3G network perfected before moving to 4G. I have read so many complaints about coverage that I want to share my experience: the 3G network in the Los Angeles area has been excellent for me. I even have great 3G coverage when traveling throughout the general area, including Glendale, Pasadena, Covina, and San Dimas. Still, considering all the complaints, it is definitely a good idea to work on improving the current network.
  • Reply 16 of 41
    1) WiMax is in no way 4G in its current state (this is a really annoying term that wimax forum uses alot, without forfilling the demands of the IMT advanced standard proposal).. It is not only speed that is taken into account of what will be the 4g standard (IMT advanced, wikipedia it..) , but also other factors such as how it handles IP data etc. Those things aside, 3mbit at the max? HSPA (3G technology, sometimes known as turbo 3G) is capable of 7.2Mbit and i can in good conditions get 3mbit out of my iPhone. LTE has shown data rates far above 20Mbit (even above 100) on a handheld device... HSPA manages 2Mbit in a car even in more rural areas.



    2) LTE ain't 4G either, but the evolution of LTE (lte advanced) will be. This won't even compare to WiMax which is yesterdays news..



    3) Why LTE is a bit expensive at the moment might be that there is no product yet It will probably arrive next year.
  • Reply 17 of 41
    ... this is what the next 3G stuff will manage. May also be handheld devices for this technology ready next year. It was actually rumoured that the 3G iPhone should be HSPA evolution compatible, although this proved false...



    42Mbit in downlink sure sounds super!



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSPA_Evolution



    edit: noticed that this was already mentioned.. but now you have the link as well
  • Reply 18 of 41
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by winterspan View Post


    Sprint says customers should see speeds between 1.5-3.0Mbps download and 0.5-1.5Mbps upload. Now that certainly isn't terrible, but even in the best scenario, [B]it's not a whole lot faster than what AT&T (and verizon) have been offering for years.



    Not terrible for sure. That is, conservatively, almost twice as fast as T1, but the high frequency signal it uses exhibits the same poor building penetration and signal strength issues since it doesn't travel as far as lower frequency signals such as Verizon's. Ultimately it will be really expensive for them to build out twice as many towers to get decent coverage.
  • Reply 19 of 41
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post


    OMG things are not looking good. I am totally opposed to this bail-out and I'm certain it will destroy our economy, or plunge us into a decade-long depression if it goes through. For the sake of our country, PLEASE contact your Congressional representatives to voice your opposition.



    That doesn't make any sense at all. Although I am certainly skeptical of this haphazard bailout plan (and think Paulson is an incompetent idiot), the last thing I think it would actually CAUSE is a great depression. If anything, according to all the economists reports I have read, it will either work as intended (somewhat unlikely) or just act as a short-term delay to the inevitable. This isn't targeted at you -- I'm just making a general point --- but It kills me to see the hordes of American citizens who weren't interested in spending even one minute to learn about and express an opinion on all of the major financial legislation passed and actions taken (mostly deregulation) over the last 15 years, but suddenly become armchair macroeconomics experts overnight when things go south. The truth is, no one really knows how much of an effect this bail-out package will have if it passes, but the alternative looks to be much worse. But to be spreading the idea that the bailout itself is going to causally lead to a great depression?? That is nonsense IMHO
  • Reply 20 of 41
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    Not terrible for sure. That is, conservatively, almost twice as fast as T1, but the high frequency signal it uses exhibits the same poor building penetration and signal strength issues since it doesn't travel as far as lower frequency signals such as Verizon's. Ultimately it will be really expensive for them to build out twice as many towers to get decent coverage.



    Indeed, one major thing I left out in my original post is that Sprints WiMax "Xohm" network uses spectrum around 2500mhz, whereas AT&T's UMTS network uses both 850mhz and 1900mhz. In the future, I believe both AT&T and Verizon's "4G" LTE networks will utilize the recently-auctioned 700mhz bands. Therefore, it should not only be much cheaper to build out with fewer towers needed, but will also have much better penetration into homes and buildings.
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