AT&T confirmed on Wednesday that it will deploy its 4G LTE network in five markets this summer, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. The carrier did not specify additional markets slated to be rolled out in 2011, but it did say 10 additional markets will be deployed this year and 70 million Americans will be covered by the end of 2011. By contrast, Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network is currently available in 55 markets and it expects to deploy in 23 more markets next month. AT&T said it expects its network to offer LTE data speeds on a par with its competitors. Hit the break for AT&T’s full press release.

AT&T’s 4G Evolution

Dallas, Texas, May 25, 2011

By John Donovan, AT&T Chief Technology Officer

AT&T has delivered five mobile broadband speed upgrades in recent years, including our HSPA+ deployment last year. And average nationwide speeds on the AT&T network have increased – more than 40 percent over the past two years alone.

The next network evolution will arrive this summer with the addition of LTE in five markets – Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and San Antonio. We plan to add another 10 or more markets in the second half of the year, and cover 70 million Americans with LTE by year-end. We also have plans to add 20 4G devices to our robust device portfolio this year, with some of those being LTE capable.

We’re positioning to deliver a great mobile broadband experience in the near term with HSPA+ and a growing LTE footprint.

We’ve invested $75 billion in our wireless and wired networks over the last four years – more capital invested in the U.S. than any company in any industry. And we plan to invest $19 billion in our wireless and wireline networks and other capital projects this year. The investments we’ve made to evolve our mobile broadband network in recent years, plus what we have planned for the future, put our customers in position to benefit fully from a host of coming mobile broadband innovations.

Via a short press release, T-Mobile announced the addition of five metropolitan areas to its HSPA+ portfolio. Des Moines, Iowa; Gainesville and Panama City, Florida; Monterey, California; and Savannah, Georgia will now have access to T-Mobile’s 21Mbps, HSPA+, 4G network. The company notes that customers can expect real-world speeds between 5Mbps and 12Mbps depending on network traffic. T-Mobile now covers 157 markets with its 21Mbps, HSPA+ network, and expects to double speeds to 42Mbps in 2011.

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According to recent survey, New Yorkers literally don’t have time to talk on their cell phones. In terms of rank, New York is #15 in the nation for total number of calls, yet almost dead last in terms of actual call durations. If you’re from New York, you’re probably shaking your head in agreement as we’re most likely to take a call while doing seven hundred other things; say what we have to say, and jump off. What state would you guess holds the title for most prolific cellphone users? That would be Georgia. Because everyone is friendly in Georgia. Some more quick data from the study: teens send almost 3,000 text messages a month, and women talk on the phone 22% more than men. Though I doubt anyone is surprised by those last figures…

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Oh hi, 4G. Despite already having been live for over a month now, Clearwire has just made WiMAX’s presence in Atlanta, Georgia official. One of over 15 cities that are covered or will be covered between now and the end of 2010, Atlanta might be considered the biggest launch to date. With 1,200 square miles and approximately 3 million people now covered in Atlanta, the city is also a major hub for air travel in the US. In fact, this WiMAX launch is made even more significant by the fact Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is constantly plagued with massive delays. Got eight hours before your connecting flight will actually take off and don’t feel like rewarding the airport by paying for Wi-Fi while it makes you wait? WiMAX subscribers are good to go. As far as pricing goes, Atlanta lines up with other WiMAX-covered territories; home Internet plans start at $20 per month, mobile plans start at $40 per month and day passes are available for $10.

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