AT&T Mobility joins '4G' fray, accelerates LTE plans

UPDATED: LAS VEGAS — It was only a matter of time before AT&T Mobility (T) jumped into the “4G” marketing game, and that time has come.
The nation’s second largest operator today unveiled “accelerated” LTE plans that call for the carrier to begin launching LTE services by the middle of this year and complete its nationwide LTE plans by the end of 2013. That would allow the carrier to equal rival Verizon Wireless’ plans for nationwide LTE coverage by the end of 2013, though it does have a near six month head start.
“2011 is going to be a defining year for our industry and our country because of 4G,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO at AT&T Mobility, as he kicked off the morning keynote at the carrier’s developer conference.
AT&T has the “best transition path to 4G in the industry,” he said. “We will deliver an experience that our competitors cannot match.”
AT&T Mobility said that its “4G” plans will include both the continued expansion of its HSPA+ network as well as the roll out of LTE services. The carrier noted that it has completed HSPA+ upgrades across basically its entire network, providing “4G speeds when combined with Ethernet or fiber backhaul.” That qualification appears important as the carrier then notes that it expects to have these backhaul capabilities across two-thirds of its network by the end of the year.
John Donovan, CTO at AT&T Mobility said the carrier is taking a use-specific approach to its network upgrades by “focusing first on sites that see the most traffic, rather than a city-by-city approach.”
He also made sure to distinguish AT&T from its competitors, pointing out that “AT&T is the only company with announced plans to launch HSPA+ and LTE.”
Donovan said AT&T chose to not leapfrog HSPA+ entirely and move directly to LTE because he believes “there’s a big gap between LTE and (3G) technology.” He backed this up by adding that the transition between Verizon Wireless’ networks has been “troubling” for users following that carrier’s LTE launch last month.
AT&T Mobility’s LTE plans have steadily been sped up over the past couple of years as a number of its rivals have embarked on aggressive build outs. Verizon Wireless recently launched commercial LTE services covering more than 110 million people, while smaller rival MetroPCS Communications Inc. has already covered a number of markets with the technology.
As for its “4G” marketing plans, the move follows an industry trend to label any technology seen as “better” than 3G as 4G. The International Telecommunications Union, which sets the specific requirements for the different “generations” of mobile technology, recently caved to the marketing pressure noting that while current services labeled as 4G did not meet the performance requirements to be labeled as such, they could still be marketed as 4G.
4G devices
In support of its 4G plans, AT&T Mobility also rolled out a number of new devices on its way to having 20 4G devices by the end of the year. Those devices will include more than a dozen powered by Google Inc.’s Android operating system, with two 4G smart phones launched during the first quarter and up to seven 4G devices during the first half of the year. More tantalizing, the carrier said it would launch two LTE-enabled tablets by mid-summer, with additional LTE tablets planned by year end.
Adding some color, AT&T Mobility unveiled a trio of new HSPA+ devices at its developers conference tied to the Consumer Electronics Show. Those devices include the Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.’s Atrix 4G, which sports Android 2.2, 1 GHz dual-core processor and an expansion keyboard dock; the HTC Corp. Inspire 4G, which includes a 4.3-inch screen, Android 2.2 and an 8-megapixel camera; and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s Infuse 4G, which includes a 4.5-inch screen, Android 2.2 and a 1.2 GHz processor. The Atrix 4G and Inspire 4G are scheduled to launch during the first quarter, while the Infuse 4G is set for a second quarter launch.
AT&T Mobility’s LTE and device news comes just a day ahead of a scheduled keynote address by Verizon Communications Inc. Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg at the CES event where he is expected to unveil a number of consumer LTE devices.