The 4G race is definitely heating up. John Stankey, AT&T's operations chief executive recently said his company is in the process of conducting trials of its 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network in Baltimore and Dallas. He also said the company is on track to launch its LTE network by mid-2011. AT&T plans to cover between 70 million and 75 million POPs by the end of next year.
Given the mid-2011 timeframe, it's possible AT&T could launch its LTE network about the same time a new Apple iPhone is announced. In the past, Apple has announced a new iPhone in June.
AT&T plans to spend $700 million on its LTE network this year. In 2011, Stankey said the company plans to "go far beyond that." In the meantime, AT&T will upgrade its current 3G network by switching over to HSPA+ sometime this year. HSPA+ is said to deliver real-time download speeds of 7Mbps.
Jennifer Johnson
Jennifer grew up around technology. From an early age, she was curious about all things related to computers. As a child, Jennifer remembers spending nights with her dad programming in BASIC and taking apart hard drives to see what was inside. In high school, she wrote her senior term paper on her experiences with building custom computers.
Jennifer graduated from the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. After college, she began writing full-time for various PC and technology magazines. Later, she transitioned to the Web. In these roles, Jennifer has covered a variety of topics including laptops, desktops, smartphones, cameras, tablets, and various consumer electronics devices. When she's not playing with or writing about the latest gadget, Jennifer loves to spend time with her family, capture memories with her camera, and scrapbook.
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