AT&T: 3G network will be ready in 275 markets by June 30
In a press release that carefully avoids any mention of the iPhone, Apple’s U.S. mobile carrier announced Wednesday that roughly two-thirds of its nationwide cell phone network be 3G ready within the next month.
By the end of June, according to AT&T, 275 U.S. markets will offer download speeds of 1.4 Mbps and upload speeds of 500 to 800 kbps (using HSDPA for downlink and HSUPA for up).
AT&T EDGE network, by comparison, is rated at up to 236.8 kbps, but actual throughput is in the 50 to 90 kbps range (see here).
AT&T didn’t specify what cities or states those 275 markets represent. But it did promise that the rest of its 350 markets will 3G-ready by the end of the year, by which point the network overhaul will have cost the company a grand total of $20 billion.
Earlier this month, AT&T’s wireless chief promised to start delivering 7.2 Mbps in selected markets by early next year and maximum throughput of 20 Mbps — Wi-Fi speeds — before the end of 2009. (see here)
“Equally as important as the network,” according Wednesday’s press release, “is the device through which a customer experiences it. AT&T’s handset portfolio in company-owned stores is more than 75 percent 3G-capable — and will be even more enticing with the addition of more 3G-enabled smartphones in the summer and fall of 2008.”
The absence of any mention of Apple (AAPL) this close to the 3G iPhone’s launch date is puzzling, given how good Apple’s first-generation mobile device has been for AT&T (T).
Data from a recent Rubicon Consulting survey found that 47% of iPhone buyers had switched from another carrier and that iPhone users were spending an average of $19 more per month than customers using other AT&T mobile phones.
Chris Foresman at Ars Technica’s Infinite Loop did some quick “back-of-the-napkin” calculations and figured that AT&T was pulling in about $167 million per month, or just over $2 billion dollars a year, from iPhone users alone.
AT&T’s coverage maps (see http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/) provide information on where the 3G coverage occurs. You need to zoom in a bit and then click the box “Show 3G Coverage” in order to see it (in blue).
SSS, everyone knows the 3G iPhone is coming in June. Why? There has been so much hype, that if Apple does Not launch it, two things will happen: 1) Investors will dump the stock (very bad for Apple execs and employees that own the stock, not to mention Jobs having to answer to a large room of pissed large investors), and 2) people that have been waiting to buy the phone, will buy elsewhere, as rivals have been launching better and better 3G phones lately.
The lack of mention of Apple was because Steve Jobs would have been pissed at AT&T execs.
TMobile user will have another incentive to switch to ATT if they are planning to get an iPhone 2.0.
But this is even better news for websites optimized for iPhone viewing. I love to see more websites designed for iPhone not because of iPhone but because of great user interfaces and experience.
My prediction, that next year we will have more posts about mobile software and websites then hardware. Hello age of software.
Apple still hasn’t actually announced that a 3G phone is coming this summer, so AT&T shouldn’t mention it.
“The absence of any mention of the 3G iPhone this close to its launch date is puzzling”
why is this puzzling? we all know the level of control apple keeps over it’s product announcements.
ex ped: true that. it was really the absence of any mention of apple that struck me as odd. reworded accordingly.
I’ll be switching to the iphone come August when my Verizon contract ends….at least if it’s only around $200.
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Silicon Valley veterans like to joke that Steve Jobs must be surrounded by a reality distortion field; if you get too close to him, you start to believe what he's saying. Thanks to the success of the iPod, the launch of the iPhone and the renewed interest in the Mac, Apple has made believers out of millions of customers - and made a lot of investors rich. But Philip Elmer-DeWitt believes that an ounce of skepticism never hurts when writing about the company. He should know. He's been covering Apple - and watching Steve Jobs operate - since 1982, first for Time Magazine, then for Business 2.0, and now for Fortune.
At what costs? There has been such a rush to get the “3G” up and running that communication tower workers are pushed to their limit. As a safety manager and a communication worker I find it hard to justify the “Hurry up and be SAFE” mentality. One of the largest construction management companies preach the 0 accident policy but force you to get this done at next to nothing in a obserd time frame and a company who used to be raising the bar are certainly not sharing all of the info. Check http://www.wirelessestimator.com to get an updated list of 3G fatalities. I am sure that the companies in question will state they require a 100% tie off but when push comes to shove get the job done.
ex ped: See here.