AT&T 4G LTE - Latest markets launching and speculation

[xchpstang]

I've seen a crane adding panels on a cellsite on Keyes Rd west of 99 freeway in the Modesto,CA market. Hopefully that means LTE will be lit sooner rather than later. If history is any indication they've been pretty good with the upgrades. Cingular got 3G going in 2006 in this market and kept up with the progressive upgrades to HSDPA 3.6, 7.2, and now HSPA+ on a timely fashion. Verizon did beat them with LTE as they brought it here last October but if AT&T is adding panels to local cellsites then it means LTE can't be far behind.

[matt110]

Im noticing a lot of cranes on cell sites replacing panels. Not just in my city, but many others as well. Seems like ATT is really picking up lte rollout. I expect a lot (15-20+ markets)to be announced soon

[fraydog]

Looks like you can add Wichita, KS to the list of markets launching soon. Color me surprised, it took AT&T forever to launch 3G here, one of the last major metro areas in the country after the iPhone 3G launched. Unfortunately I don't have an LTE phone right now, as I didn't think in my wildest dreams LTE would beat the iPhone 5 to Wichita so I can't test speeds or coverage. I have a few friends letting me know their phones are connected to LTE though. One who is a cell phone rep, told me a person from AT&T informed her AT&T would have a much larger LTE coverage area than Verizon (in this market) at launch. That's something to be hopeful for, as Verizon's initial LTE launch was no slouch in coverage. I drove around to a few AT&T sites, and loe and behold, there is a new panel that I hadn't noticed before. Really I am kicking myself for not noticing it earlier, this launch completely crept up on me.

Has there been extra panels with RRU's going up in surrounding areas?

[zephxiii]

Detroit should launch soon since i saw a video in the market of LTE panels getting installed back in March.

[Tim-of-NC]

According to the map AT&T now has LTE in Greensboro and Burlington NC I don't have a LTE phone but was in Burlington today and in downtown my phone kept switching to edge where I had 5 bars of hspa+ so something's up. Verizon just launched LTE in Burlington in June so AT&T must have followed.

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[matt110]

According to the map AT&T now has LTE in Greensboro and Burlington NC I don't have a LTE phone but was in Burlington today and in downtown my phone kept switching to edge where I had 5 bars of hspa+ so something's up. Verizon just launched LTE in Burlington in June so AT&T must have followed.

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and Winston Salem!

Im in greensboro and can't get LTE signal yet..maybe its live though. Im heading to a store soon.

[Tim-of-NC]

and Winston Salem!

Im in greensboro and can't get LTE signal yet..maybe its live though. Im heading to a store soon.

I'd like to know. I also wonder how it'll affect hspa+ speeds as traffic moves over to lte

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[Squid7085]

For me the Good News keeps rolling in, my hometown of Wichita, KS just launched LTE, and I just ran into some documents for my college home of Lawrence, KS. Lawrence has a very open Planning process, and every time a Tower is touched, the city needs to approve it, bad for carriers, great for me because I can view the documents! It appears that the "buildout" will start fall of 2012 in Lawrence, the Planning Documents are just now starting to show up. I have to say one thing, AT&T is actually impressing me this time around, if only they put this much gusto into their 3G network, finish I-35 between Lawrence and Wichita and I'll be a happy camper, at least for now...

[johnhere]

I'm been fairly impressed with att lately with the upgrades. Hope it continues.

[ilvla2]

I'm been fairly impressed with att lately with the upgrades. Hope it continues.

I am too, we have HSPA+ w/EB in a lot of areas up here in Mendocino County now, though one town, Laytonville is still EDGE, and there are spots of EDGE here and there, however, all the towns that AT&T does cover, except for Laytonville are 3G. The nearest LTE with AT&T to us is in SF, 120 miles south of my place in Redwood Valley, Verizon's ends in San Rafael, 110 miles south, and the nearest LTE with U.S. Cellular is in the midwest. As for deployment, we SHOULD see LTE from Verizon later this year, with U.S. Cellular in 2013, I haven't heard any schedules for AT&T LTE up here, but in CA AT&T's LTE hasn't expanded past the Bay Area, L.A./OC/RIV/SB and SD areas, leaving most of the state without it.

Edit-AT&T is supposed to have all major metro areas covered with LTE by the end of 2013, which, if true means our rural area won't see it from AT&T until at least 2014. That will put them behind Verizon and U.S. Cellular.

[ggore]

For me the Good News keeps rolling in, my hometown of Wichita, KS just launched LTE, and I just ran into some documents for my college home of Lawrence, KS. Lawrence has a very open Planning process, and every time a Tower is touched, the city needs to approve it, bad for carriers, great for me because I can view the documents! It appears that the "buildout" will start fall of 2012 in Lawrence, the Planning Documents are just now starting to show up. I have to say one thing, AT&T is actually impressing me this time around, if only they put this much gusto into their 3G network, finish I-35 between Lawrence and Wichita and I'll be a happy camper, at least for now...

As formercanuck reports in the 3G Expansion thread, most of the changes in AT&T's overall national network lately have been upgrades from existing 3G to HSPA+ i.e. backhaul upgrades, and very little if any EDGE-to-3G upgrades. The additional LTE markets are good, now that Wichita is an island of LTE in a sea of EDGE, maybe they will be skipping the EDGE-to-3G step in that area going forward.

[ggore]

I am too, we have HSPA+ w/EB in a lot of areas up here in Mendocino County now, though one town, Laytonville is still EDGE, and there are spots of EDGE here and there, however, all the towns that AT&T does cover, except for Laytonville are 3G. The nearest LTE with AT&T to us is in SF, 120 miles south of my place in Redwood Valley, Verizon's ends in San Rafael, 110 miles south, and the nearest LTE with U.S. Cellular is in the midwest. As for deployment, we SHOULD see LTE from Verizon later this year, with U.S. Cellular in 2013, I haven't heard any schedules for AT&T LTE up here, but in CA AT&T's LTE hasn't expanded past the Bay Area, L.A./OC/RIV/SB and SD areas, leaving most of the state without it.

Edit-AT&T is supposed to have all major metro areas covered with LTE by the end of 2013, which, if true means our rural area won't see it from AT&T until at least 2014. That will put them behind Verizon and U.S. Cellular.

AT&T's goal is to cover 80% of the population with LTE, as opposed to Verizon's goal of 97%. Therefore, it will be interesting to see what AT&T's definition of "major metropolitan area" is going to be.

[zephxiii]

lol no they are not skipping EDGE to HSPA as that has already been demonstrated and still happening....lol.

[ggore]

lol no they are not skipping EDGE to HSPA as that has already been demonstrated and still happening....lol.

Sorry, I meant to say EDGE-to-3G, as that isn't happening much anywhere. AT&T is concentrating on upgrading existing 3G areas, adding backhaul and upgrading them to HSPA+/EB, and adding LTE to the major urban areas. It makes complete sense that this is their plan, as they don't have the spectrum to deploy LTE to the entire country, so they must get all those 3G areas upgraded with enhanced backhaul to HSPA+/EB that will give customers near-LTE data rates. That will easily tide them over.

That seems to be their overall strategy going forward, instead of upgrading the EDGE areas to anything else. They may keep doing what they are doing now, upgrading a few sites in isolated areas from EDGE to 3G, but no wholesale conversion is in the offing, despite all their promises to the contrary. As formercanuck did with his comparison of last month's and this month's maps, put an AT&T map from a year ago beside one from today, and it is very obvious the lion's share of changes are in upgrades to existing 3G areas, not the addition of new 3G areas.

[zephxiii]

Sorry, I meant to say EDGE-to-3G, as that isn't happening much anywhere. AT&T is concentrating on upgrading existing 3G areas, adding backhaul and upgrading them to HSPA+/EB, and adding LTE to the major urban areas. It makes complete sense that this is their plan, as they don't have the spectrum to deploy LTE to the entire country, so they must get all those 3G areas upgraded with enhanced backhaul to HSPA+/EB that will give customers near-LTE data rates. That will easily tide them over.

That seems to be their overall strategy going forward, instead of upgrading the EDGE areas to anything else. They may keep doing what they are doing now, upgrading a few sites in isolated areas from EDGE to 3G, but no wholesale conversion is in the offing, despite all their promises to the contrary. As formercanuck did with his comparison of last month's and this month's maps, put an AT&T map from a year ago beside one from today, and it is very obvious the lion's share of changes are in upgrades to existing 3G areas, not the addition of new 3G areas.

It just happened on a 60mile stretch in my market and in another area, and I am aware of plans to expand HSPA coverage even further into other currently EDGE areas. I also aware of plans to continue the deployment of HSPA into a lot more area in 2013 (with LTE)....so no they are not skipping HSPA deployment. The HSPA deployment has slowed down a little because a lot of the money is going into jump starting the LTE network but it is not stopping so please stop saying that it is as it has proven that is has not.