AT&T today announced plans to upgrade its 3G network with High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 technology. HSPA 7.2 is part of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) family of technologies, which include GSM and UMTS.
Most of the laptop cards and smartphones that AT&T sells, including the iPhone, have the silicon necessary to access that additional capacity. AT&T is now in the process of field certifying 7.2-Mb/s devices on its two test networks.
The emerging LTE standard, is favored by Verizon. Verizon says it aims to roll out commercial LTE services in 20 to 30 US markets next year. LTE is also part of the 3GPP technology roadmap, but will require a “forklift upgrade”. AT&T won’t begin LTE deployment until 2011 or 2012.
In addition to faster HSDPA, AT&T says it is enhancing its mobile broadband coverage by nearly doubling the wireless spectrum dedicated to 3G in most metropolitan areas. AT&T is also adding thousands of new cell site backhaul connections to support the higher mobile broadband speeds enabled by HSPA 7.2 and LTE.
According to the GSM Association, 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. CEO Ralph de la Vega says AT&T will likely skip upgrading its network to 14.4Mbps and jump directly from 7.2Mbps to 21Mbps using HSPA+ (also known as HSPA Evolution). No word on when that may happen.
The newly announced upgraded network could allow for theoretical peak speeds of 7.2Mbps. Typical real-world downlink and uplink speeds experienced by customers with upgraded 3G will be much less than the theoretical peak, of course. Speed is largely determined by the backhaul capacity of the local tower, number of users and user’s distance from the tower.
AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network is now available in nearly 350 U.S. major metropolitan areas, with about 20 additional metro areas planned for deployment in 2009. The HSPA 7.2 technology will be deployed widely in the network, with the benefits of the network upgrade to be announced on a local basis as the faster speeds are turned up. AT&T will introduce multiple HSPA 7.2-compatible laptop cards and smartphones beginning later this year.
Other key AT&T projects in 2009 include:
- Near-Doubling Radio Frequency Capacity. In 2008 and 2009 to date, high-quality 850 MHz spectrum has been deployed in more than half of AT&T’s 3G network footprint to improve overall coverage and in-building reception, with additional markets planned for later in the year.
- More Bandwidth to Cell Sites. We are adding fiber-optic connectivity and additional capacity to thousands of cell sites across the country this year, expanding the critical connections that deliver traffic from a cell site into the global IP backbone network. These upgrades will support the higher mobile broadband speeds enabled by both HSPA 7.2 and LTE.
- More Cell Sites. Deployment of about 2,100 new cell sites across the country.
- Wi-Fi Integration. Many AT&T smartphones will be able to switch seamlessly between 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity. AT&T customers with qualifying smartphone and 3G LaptopConnect plans have access to the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network – more than 20,000 hotspots, including locations in all 50 states – at no additional charge. AT&T’s global Wi-Fi footprint covers more than 90,000 hotspots, and AT&T also can create permanent or temporary extended Wi-Fi zones in areas with high 3G network use, like a grouping of hotels or a festival.
- MicroCells. Customer trials leading toward general availability of AT&T 3G MicroCell offerings, which utilize femtocells to enhance in-building wireless coverage.
AT&T plans a total capital expenditures for 2009 in the $17 billion to $18 billion range.
In its fourth-quarter AT&T added 2.1 million wireless subscribers. 1.9 million of them were iPhone accounts. 40 percent of those –- about 760,000 — were new to AT&T.
AT&T says its 3G network has the headroom, through software upgrades, to keep pace with Verizon’s plans and Clearwire’s WiMax venture, reports Unstrung. The move to HSDPA will be enough to nearly double average speeds and quadruple peak rates, he contends.
“We have been aggressively deploying UMTS in our infrastructure and migrating it to HSDPA,” said AT&T operations chief John Stankey. “What is important to understand is that over the next two years and in the next three years, we have a very defined and very clean technology path to improving the performance of our wireless data services and the speeds and the capabilities of this network.
“This is a capability that we will be able to deploy largely by doing software upgrades in the network and augmenting backhaul, as opposed to doing a fundamental transition of an entire air interface such as the change from EV-DO to LTE,” Stankey continued, referring to rival Verizon’s plan.
Roger Gurnani, senior VP of product development at Verizon Wireless told Unstrung in April that the operator would build out LTE in its nationwide footprint within two or three years of the 2010 launch. Verizon Wireless will continue to rely on its CDMA 1x network for voice traffic during its LTE rollout.
Though LTE can simultaneously support voice and data communications, the carrier will most likely use LTE for data. Verizon and its LTE providers, Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson, have announced the Verizon Innovation Center to develop applications for the new platform.
Related Dailywireless articles include; AT&T: HSPA+ Not LTE for Now and Verizon LTE: 30 US Markets by 2010.
