“AT&T Mobility is in no hurry to transition to Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. In response to accelerated next-generation rollout schedules by Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility spokesman Mark Siegel said the carrier has plenty of room for upgrades before making the switch to LTE,” Allie Winter reports for RCR Wireless News.
“Siegel said the carrier plans to first upgrade its current HSPA network to HSPA+, before moving to LTE. (Siegel would not offer a specific date for an LTE rollout by AT&T Mobility, noting only that it will begin some type of rollout within the new two years.) Further, Siegel declined to give any details related to the HSPA+ upgrade, including when it would happen and any possible benefits the upgrade would provide,” Winter reports.
“Interestingly, though, Siegel did say AT&T Mobility is testing 7.2 megabit per second download speeds in Chicago, adding that those speeds could soon increase to 14.4 Mbps or higher. Siegel declined to explain the technologies powering those speeds.
“According to the GSM Association, the trade group representing the GSM family of technologies, HSDPA can support download speeds of 7.2 Mbps, while HSPA+ can support speeds of up to 42 Mbps in the downlink and 11 Mbps in the uplink. The trade group said peak rates for LTE, which is not a finalized standard, sit at 100 Mbps in the downlink and 50 Mbps in the uplink,” Winter reports.
More in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dirty Pierre le Punk” for the heads up.]