Despite the promise of greater network efficiencies and lower pre-bit rates, it appears that those price savings are not being included in the initial roll out of LTE-based services.
AT&T Mobility (T) is the latest to keep the status quo, announcing that its upcoming LTE-based mobile broadband offering will maintain current 3G pricing at $50 per month for 5 gigabytes of data transmission with additional data priced at $10 per gigabyte. As if to emphasis the points, AT&T Mobility also takes the time to spell out that the offering is not “unlimited” and thus consumers will be charged for overage.
Verizon Wireless (VZ) made the same decision for its LTE-enabled services, charging consumers the same per-gigabyte pricing as it charges for its 3G services. Those plans include tiers of 2 GB at $30, 5 GB at $50 and 10 GB at $80, with overage charged at $10 per gigabyte.
Executives for both carriers have said for months that the advantage of moving to the all-IP LTE standard would be greater network efficiencies that would lower the per-bit cost of moving data traffic across their networks. However, with pricing models at least initially staying in line with supposedly less efficient 3G technologies carriers are either looking to get a quicker return on their LTE investments or are really taking a hit on their 3G networks.
AT&T Mobility said its LTE offering is still set to launch in five markets – Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio – by Sept. 21, with plans to expand to 15 markets covering 70 million potential customers by the end of the year.
Looking to prime the pump, the carrier said it will begin offering a pair of LTE-equipped mobile broadband devices on Aug. 21. The devices include a USB wireless modem and a mobile hot spot. Both devices include support for the carrier’s planned LTE network as well as its current HSPA+ network that is reliant on bolstered backhaul capabilities for its enhanced speeds.
The devices will join the previously launched LG Electronics Co. Ltd. Adrenaline USB modem , which the carrier launched last year and that beginning Aug. 26 would be upgradeable to LTE support. The device does not currently support the carrier’s HSPA+-based “4G” services, instead relying on the more basic HSPA network.
No word yet from the carrier on plans to launch LTE-equipped smartphones.
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