AT&T Claims 50 Pct Boost in 3G Uploads

The company claims its latest measurements show customers getting 50 percent better upload speeds and 20 percent better download speeds on its 3G networks - if they have the right hardware.

It looks like AT&T wasn’t kidding when it bragged about the $20 billion worth of upgrades made to its 3G networks over the last three years. In analyzing connection measurements, the company found a 20 percent increase in typical download speeds on its 3G networks and an even more impressive 50 percent boost in upload speeds.

Download speeds jumped at both the minimum and maximum speeds achievable, from a former range of 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps to 700 Kbps to 1.7 Mbps. While the rock bottom speed for uploads remained at 500 Kbps, the peak increased from 800 Kbps to 1.2 Mbps.

Although AT&T says it performed thousands of measurements in multiple markets to acquire the data, it should be noted that the measurements were made with a very specific customer set: those using AT&T’s LaptopConnect service with HSUPA. At the moment, only four supported HSUPA cards even exist.

The newly deployed HSUPA technology that AT&T credits with the boost will finish rolling out to all 275 of its 3G markets in June. The same technology will reach another 75 cities by the year’s end.