Let confusion reign!
AT&T Mobility (T) announced today plans to begin selling “4G” devices compatible with the carrier’s soon-to-launch LTE network alongside currently available “4G” devices compatible with the carrier’s HSPA+ network. Sure, those “4G” LTE devices will be backwards compatible with “4G” HSPA+ services, but the “4G” HSPA+ devices will not be forward compatible with “4G” LTE services. Got it?
The initial LTE devices will include a USB wireless modem that will sell for $50 after rebates and a two-year contract and a wireless hotspot that will retail for $70 after rebates and a two-year contract. Both devices will be compatible with LTE services running on the carrier’s 700 MHz and 1.7/2.1 GHz spectrum bands. AT&T Mobility currently sells a USB modem and four smartphones compatible with its “4G” HSPA+ service that runs on the carrier’s 850 MHz and 1.9 GHz frequencies.
There has been no official word on when AT&T Mobility will begin rolling out LTE-equipped smartphones, though images of such devices have begun to flood the Internet.
AT&T Mobility has said it plans to launch LTE services in five markets – Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio – later this summer, with plans to cover 70 million potential customers in 15 markets by the end of the year.
AT&T Mobility’s push into “4G” marketing and LTE technology comes in response to similar moves by rivals as Verizon Wireless has aggressively touted its LTE network, while Sprint Nextel Corp. has used the “4G” term for its WiMAX-based service and T-Mobile USA Inc. has used the term for its HSPA+ network.