AT&T says B Block and Aloha spectrum will go to LTE

The FCC has just lifted its gag order on the gory details of the 700MHz Auction 73, and AT&T wasted absolutely no time setting up a press conference to discuss how it was planning to utilize its win in the so-called B Block. Bottom line: AT&T's moving to LTE for its 4G infrastructure -- no surprise there, since it's the natural evolution for GSM carriers -- and the purchase is designed to support that build-out. As they've said before, they're tooting their horn over the fact that the B Block action combined with the Aloha spectrum purchase gives the carrier 100 percent coverage in the 700MHz arena in the top 200 US markets, while also noting that the frequency range is stellar at breaking through walls for hot in-building coverage.

As for Verizon's C Block win -- the block touted for its open access clause -- AT&T's convinced that the B Block made more sense for the very reason that it lacked those regulatory restrictions. The lack of FCC oversight is cause for some concern, yes, but AT&T continues to stress that it was "open" long before the whole C Block hullaballoo came along by virtue of the fact that any GSM device with the right bands can hop on its network.

In terms of timing, the company's not really in any hurry; it wants to continue to milk HSPA for everything it's worth, promising a 7.2Mbps downlink rollout through 2009, and realistically, we'll be well into the next decade before we see wide-scale use of 700MHz LTE around these parts. A little scary for the impatient among us, we've gotta say.

[phanbouy @ Apr 3rd 2008 6:35PM]

glad to see Aloha Airlines is landing on their feet ;p

[conor @ Apr 3rd 2008 6:40PM]

damn it i want LTE now!

[Hugh Newmark @ Apr 3rd 2008 6:51PM]

AT&T ftw


Wow. Never thought I would say that.

[chris @ Apr 3rd 2008 6:55PM]

Does this mean a GSM iPhone could hop onto it - kind of like putting nitrous oxide in your engine.

[TedB @ Apr 3rd 2008 6:58PM]

Where is my 4G iPhone?

[thehumanyawn @ Apr 3rd 2008 7:01PM]

NEED FASTER, BETTER COVERAGE! Since the spectrum is already so well built-out, they should start slowing down HSPA rollouts to focus on LTE. In fact, I wish Apple would release a 4G iPhone instead of a 3G as it would satisfy user needs for higher speed, longer range, and lower power consumption that everyone wants. Apple might even extend their exclusivity contract if AT&T is fast-tracking next-gen technology.

[derX @ Apr 3rd 2008 9:14PM]

(The reply system seems to be broken...AGAIN...let's see where this lands)

@thehumanyawn
You do realize that AT&T already has a pretty decently layed out 3G network and that the 3G iPhone is probably nearing end stage. Why in the world would they abandon both the 3G network and 3G iPhone and focus on 4G?

How about we take the cart and put it back behind the horse.

[loosely_coupled @ Apr 7th 2008 9:22PM]

@derX

Decent? AT&T doesn't even SHOW their 3G/HSPA network until you zoom way into the city level on their coverage map so users don't see how pathetic the roll out is. I will agree it is most definitely getting better each month, but Verizon is years ahead in getting 3G/EVDO rolled out everywhere...

[Framit @ Apr 3rd 2008 7:02PM]

No.

[Framit @ Apr 3rd 2008 7:03PM]

Thanks Engadget response system.

(No was to "chris"'s comment. This will not work with any existing GSM phones)

[RC @ Apr 3rd 2008 7:15PM]

AT&T should start building up the LTE infrastructure as soon as they can. Continue to upgrade the HSPA. If they can get LTE out in the same timeframe as European carriers that'd be nice.

[Jonathan-DBOSS @ Apr 3rd 2008 7:21PM]

woot!!

[Dan @ Apr 3rd 2008 7:45PM]

Keep in mind that a at&t 700MHz "4G" network will not exist for another 18 months. Hell... the frequencies that they're going to use will still have analog TV broadcasts on them for another year.

I don't want to wait that long for an iPhone with decent broadband, do you?

[jmckee @ Apr 3rd 2008 7:50PM]

Any clue what kind of speeds Sprint is planning to offer for WiMax, I can't imagine them being much faster than 7.2mb when it rolls out.

[thehumanyawn @ Apr 3rd 2008 8:11PM]

I know there is still awhile before the switchover, but AT&T should start working out their plans and start figuring out what infrastructure will need to be replaced at their end to limit rollout delay

[thehumanyawn @ Apr 3rd 2008 8:14PM]

BTW Dan, Apple won't be releasing the 3G iPhone until later this year anyways, but for some the wait could be worth it, and it would address Apple's 3G power consumption concerns.

[ThePremierAssassin @ Apr 3rd 2008 8:39PM]

Well how far away is this 4G that you guys are talking about?

I need a phone now and I want an iPhone provided it has all the necessary features at a good price.

Plus what does HSPA mean and what LTE mean?

[Catherine @ Apr 5th 2008 4:52PM]

TPAssassin: Go to [e-mail] for more details re: wireless networking/mobile capacity consultants.

[RyanTV @ Apr 3rd 2008 8:44PM]

what are the top 200 cellular markets in the US?

[tyler.brock @ Apr 3rd 2008 9:05PM]

Stop being such a freaking moron and read something on wikipedia. I know that sounds harsh but shit, we have google now you lazy ass.

[J L @ Apr 3rd 2008 9:14PM]

So, does the 700MHz band cover all of the US, or is it just specialized areas? (I live out in the country. IE, I barely have EDGE w/ ATT.)

[PeterF @ Apr 3rd 2008 9:20PM]

LOL iPhone can't even use 3G and you want it to use 4G!?

[thethirdmoose @ Apr 3rd 2008 11:14PM]

Stop being such a freaking moron and properly reply to something on engadget. I know that sounds harsh but shit, we have reply buttons now you lazy ass.

[thethirdmoose @ Apr 3rd 2008 11:15PM]

aaaaaaaaand.... i just owned myself... guess these reply buttons aren't exactly "working"

[Darkest Daze @ Apr 4th 2008 5:22AM]

That just made me laugh actually. There is a work-around to the reply system. If you click on the date under a poster's name, you can then click the "reply" button there and it'll work fine.

[Gabe @ Apr 4th 2008 12:46AM]

A 3g iphone might not be the best step to take soon considering that the EDGE speed with infastructure updates will doulbe speed now later this year..remember nokia/siemens new software that doubles edge speeds to 596kbits/sec (50kbytes/sec, roughly) with improved latency which is basic DSL speeds - plenty fast enough to download songs on a lunch break or elsewhere(song in 2-3 min.) and plenty fast enough for a PHONE to broswe pages, and with such a thing they could just call this 3g, after all edge is 2.5 and this firmware update would give 3g and save bettery life by a HUGE margin - this is why they avoided 3g b/c of battery life!

[Chris in CA @ Apr 4th 2008 1:20PM]

I just don't buy Apple's "no 3G because of battery life". It's not as if WiFi sips the power. Everybody else seems to make 3G devices that can make it through the day. And double the speed of EDGE? That's like saying double the speed of dial-up is just as good as a T1. 3G FTW

[Gabe @ Apr 5th 2008 11:31AM]

NO, your comparing apples and oranges! doule the speed of dial up and you have 10k/sec (slow and dredful latency) - web pages are slow...double the speed of edge and you have 50k/sec - this makes web page surfing nice - i work with 50k/sec DSL on two desktops at work and we do great.. And we are talking about cell phones here! 50k/sec is nice on that....NOT TO MENTION - EDGE is in alot of places, so if they get speed there with a update , thats amazing to have those speeds in all places that they cover.. This speed increase would further add value to edge while its phasing out and 3g and 4g are rolling out......so 10k vs. 50k - load nytimes.com on dial up and then same on DSL....

[phanbouy @ Apr 4th 2008 1:51AM]

zuh?

[phanbouy @ Apr 4th 2008 1:51AM]

grr that was a reply to Gabe

[stankychicken @ Apr 4th 2008 2:29AM]

No0b.

[Big Al @ Apr 4th 2008 10:32AM]

I wonder how AT&T can be happy with this. True, they now have their own "nationwide" coverage in 700MHz at 6MHz, but Verizon's BW is bigger at 11MHz. i.e. Verizon's will be faster.

[Allen @ Apr 4th 2008 11:30AM]

They can't hold off too long. Here is how this will go I think: Verizon just announced LTE in 2011 at the earliest. AT&T is not going to get stuck with a slower network, so they will aim for 2010. Verizon will aim for 2010. AT&T will get stuck trying to deliver it ASAP.

Thing is, I wonder WHY they aren't trying to roll it out as quickly as possible. It'd bring device manufacturers to them with all the latest, and consumers and businesses would flock there for the fastest times. They could conceivably even drop their land based services as, really, LTE is faster.

[Chris in CA @ Apr 4th 2008 1:14PM]

Poor Apple. Their new phone will still be slow. At least it will have more storage and five-times the apple-ness.

[Catherine Mirch @ Apr 5th 2008 3:41PM]

To answer ThePremierAssassin's difficult question:

UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) features the very powerful High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), which in theory can offer raw downlink throughput of up to 14.4 Mbps. Both of these technologies dedicate a cellular channel just to data, and HSPA is much faster because UMTS channels are four times wider that CDMA2000s. We call both of these 3.5G because their raw throughput exceeds the upper bound of 2 Mbps that defines 3G, but neither is designed to replace the 3G voice services already in place.

What is LTE? (Long Term Evolution)

The Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) initiative (began in Canada, 2004),and was led by seven network operators (* NGMN members: China Mobile Communications Corporation, KPN Mobile NV, NTT DoCoMo Inc., Orange SA, Sprint Nextel Corporation, T-Mobile International AG & Co KG and, Vodafone Group PLC).
They provided a set of recommendations for the creation of networks suitable for the competitive delivery of mobile broadband services. The NGMN goal is "to provide a coherent vision for technology evolution beyond 3G for the competitive delivery of broadband wireless services".
A feasibility study on the UTRA & UTRAN (Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network) Long Term Evolution was started in December 2004. The objective was "to develop a framework for the evolution of the 3GPP radio-access technology towards a high-data-rate, low-latency and packet-optimized radio-access technology.

[kev @ Apr 6th 2008 11:55AM]

AT&T has been at the forefront of much of R&D progress over the last half a century. The computer you're sitting at is running an operating system that was most likely written in C and C++, both coming from Bell Labs/AT&T.

[Jackie Moon @ Apr 7th 2008 8:53PM]

My 3G HSDPA 3.6Mbps phone gives much better battery life actually using the 3G network than the GSM network due to the 3G signal being a lot stronger. I discovered this after I upgraded my SIM to enable me to get on the 3G signal.