AT&T is already late to the 4G party, as Sprint already has their 4G WiMAX network available in 30+ cities and Verizon is currently in the "User Testing" phase for their 4G LTE deployment. AT&T has no plans of implementing 4G this year, but they have indicated that they do have long-term plans for 4G. AT&T's network architect, Yiannis Argyropoulos noted that AT&T is focused on deploying fiber to upgrade their backhaul capabilities. Perhaps they've learned their lesson from the complaints of current iPhone users. AT&T anticipates on focusing on their fiber backhaul deployment until at least 2015. AT&T knows that there will be a large demand on their network when they release their 4G LTE and want to make sure they're ready.
AT&T does plan on making their 4G LTE network available by 2011, but they are currently focusing on their HSPA+ upgrades this year. HSPA+ is just a new revision of their current 3G network that allows for faster data transfer speeds. The only real advantage that AT&T's 3G service offers over the technology that Sprint & Verizon use for their respective 3G networks is simultaneous voice and data - meaning you can surf the web and talk on the phone at the same time. HSPA+ is designed to deliver real world download speeds around 7Mbps, which is certainly faster than their current 3G network, but it's not nearly as fast as a 4G network. This makes us wonder if AT&T's decision to wait on 4G deployment is a wise decision. It simply doesn't make sense considering Sprint's 4G service is already available and Verizon plans to have 25-30 commercial 4G LTE markets in the fourth quarter of 2010. Apparently AT&T believes that their HSPA+ is going to be "fast enough" for users until they get around to launching their LTE network. Once they finally do go live they are going to be at a considerable disadvantage with already established Sprint and Verizon 4G networks.
