Thursday, April 3,2008 @ 10:25pm
AT&T to use LTE for 4G wireless system, more
AT&T today held a conference call regarding its acquisitions in the 700MHz spectrum, and confirmed that it will use the Long Term Evolution system for its upcoming 4G telecommunications infrastructure. Representatives during the call told MacNN its B-block acquisitions of the 700MHz spectrum would allow it to cover 87 percent of the US populace with its 4G architecture, and would give it finer control over its network and applications. Since it is a closed system, it allows AT&T to enable or restrict certain devices.
Additionally, AT&T's existing HSPA network speed is said to be doubled in 2009 with the addition of a 7.2 Megabit communication standard.
The introduction of AT&T's 4G network is pending release in 2009 as the band is still occupied by analogue television signals. The FCC declared that all television providers must switch to digital by the aforementioned time.
Verizon also announced plans to use its share of the 700MHz spectrum for its own 4G LTE network, which would mean that AT&T hardware would be interoperable with the network, and likewise with Verizon hardware on AT&T.