AT&T Announces Plans to Double Mobile Data Speeds

By Geoff Duncan Published June 15, 2018

AT&T Logo Apple has certainly had a hit on its hands with the iPhone, but the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. carrier AT&T has certainly been taking hits over its network performance: users of iPhones—and other mobile devices—have consistently been complaining about limited bandwidth, poor network performance, and even problems placing and sustaining calls in well-networked areas. Today, AT&T announced plans to bring more data bandwidth to its mobile, announcing it plans to bring 7.2 Mbps HSPA technology to 25 major markets by the end of 2010—and six of those markets should be online by the end of 2009. For customers in areas getting the improved service—and who upgrade to HSPA 7.2 devices—the new service levels might turn AT&T’s network into a whole new experience.

“Our deployment of HSPA 7.2 and supporting back-haul connectivity will enable our customers to continue to ride the leading edge of emerging devices and thousands of mobile applications,” said AT&T Operations CEO and president John Stankey, in a statement. “Our network is based on the predominant technology platform used by operators worldwide and has been tested by today’s most popular devices. That experience gives us an important advantage in developing and deploying new technologies to meet customers’ future needs.”

Recommended Videos

AT&T plans to roll out HSPA 7.2 in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, and Los Angeles by the end of the year, with coverage extended to 25 of the 30 largest mobile markets in the United States by the end of 2010. By the end of 2011, AT&T hopes to cover about 90 percent of its existing 3G data services network footprint with HSPA 7.2 technology.

HSPA 7.2 theoretically offers data bandwidth up to 7.2 Mbps, roughly double the bandwidth available in the best case scenario on AT&T’s existing 3G network. However, the 7.2 Mbps speed is a theoretical maximum; in reality, bandwidth will be lower due to network utilization, location, the specifics HSPA 7.2 device being used, interference, and other factors.

To take advantage of the new bandwidth, AT&T customers will have to have an HSPA 7.2-compatible phone; that includes the iPhone 3Gs, but not earlier editions of the iPhone. AT&T says it plans to introduce half a dozen new HSPA 7.2 handsets by the end of the year, along with HSPA 7.2 data card for use in notebook computers.

AT&T’s HSPA 7.2 technology will be competing against WiMax offerings from Clearwire, as well as forthcoming LTE mobile broadband technology Verizon Wireless is planning to launch in 2010.

Topics

AT&T

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Mobile

T-Mobile has been hit with a $60 million fine. Here’s why

T-Mobile, the third-largest carrier in the U.S., has been hit with a $60 million fine by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). This penalty is related to its failure to follow the terms of a mitigation agreement that T-Mobile agreed to when it acquired Sprint Corp. in 2020.

According to Reuters, Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent company, failed to prevent and report unauthorized access to sensitive data following the Sprint Corp. acquisition. The unauthorized access occurred in 2020 and 2021 when "information (was) shared from a small number of law enforcement information requests."

Mobile

This year’s big AT&T outage was worse than we thought

An at&t office building.

Back on February 22 this year, AT&T suffered a massive outage after a botched network update. Now, months later, the full scale of the outage has been revealed — and it’s much bigger than we thought at the time.

"All voice and 5G data services for AT&T wireless customers were unavailable, affecting more than 125 million devices, blocking more than 92 million voice calls, and preventing more than 25,000 calls to 911 call centers," the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said in its report.

Mobile

T-Mobile’s controversial price increases have gotten it in trouble

In May, T-Mobile, the nation’s third-largest carrier, revealed its intention to raise rates on some of its older plans by $2 to $5 per line or up to $20 per account per month. Many of those customers aren’t happy and, according to Phone Arena, are bringing a class action lawsuit against the company.

As we previously noted, the price hikes affect users of legacy Simple Choice, ONE, and Magenta plans. Some users say those increases go against the company’s Price Lock and Un-Contract obligations. The move to see T-Mobile in court comes after thousands of customers filed complaints with the U.S. FCC and FTC.