AT&T to upgrade 3G service, iPhone must wait

AT&T has promised to unveil an upgrade to its mobile network with a six-fold upload increase, but those improvements won't include Apple's iPhone until the Cupertino-based company unveils a newer model with support for the carrier's quicker service. AT&T wireless network services president Richard Burns told Reuters in an interview that the cellular carrier expects to perform most of its planned upgrades in October and November, ramping upload speeds to help meet higher bandwidth demand from customers. "The ability to upload is becoming more important," Burns said. "Everybody in the street is becoming a reporter so the desire to be able to upload is growing. That's become a much bigger part of consumer demand than it was just a few years ago." The network upgrades will increase speeds to 500-800Kbps from the current 120Kbps, but Burns points to AT&T surveys that suggest iPhone owners are happy with their slower EDGE service.

A recent report hinted at a new 3G/GPS-enabled iPhone that uses AT&T's faster service. The new model is allegedly due to arrive some time during the first quarter of next year, and would drastically increase internet connection speeds for iPhone owners who are not within range of a Wi-Fi network.