AT&T announced today that it will roll out its Long Term Evolution 4G network in at least 5 cities this summer. The LTE 4G network can deliver speeds 5 times faster than 3G, and their competitor Verizon already has a 4G LTE network in place that has allowed them to post the fastest speeds ever recorded by a smartphone with their HTC Thunderbolt smartphones.
Earlier this year, AT&T announced plans to open their LTE 4G sooner than first anticipated. Keeping pace with the Sprint 4G and Verizon LTE 4G networks, and in the wireless speed marketplace overall, is paramount if AT&T is going to continue to be a major player after the AT&T, T-Mobile merger that was announced last week. Companies are constantly touting a “faster” network, speedier connections, and quicker download times, and now that there are going to be only 3 major carriers, “keeping up with the Joneses” is more important than ever.
The fact that speed and the symbols “4G” are so important was recently proved when AT&T started calling their upgraded 3G network a full fledged 4G service. However, their on the ground infrastructure did not deliver anywhere near 4G speeds, thus the massive investment in LTE 4G technology.
John Stankey is the chief of the AT&T business solutions unit, and said today that Atlanta, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Chicago would all be the site of the LTE 4G roll-out, giving “this summer” as his only hint at a release date. An additional 10 markets to be named later will also receive the speedy network upgrade by the end of 2011.
While the roll-out is much smaller than the 38 market and 60 commercial airport phase Verizon started with, it is a start. AT&T stated that its already fast 3G network means not having to roll-out the 4G LTE service as quickly, giving them a smoother transition than Verizon is currently experiencing.
With Sprint already in place with 4G services in 77 markets, and Verizon well ahead of AT&T with their LTE network, sooner than later is the time for AT&T to enter the 4G fray.
