AT&T's 3G comes out on top in speed tests, will only get faster in 2009

The folks over at Computerworld just ran the current 3G providers in America through their paces, only to discover that AT&T came out on top in almost every category. Well, it appears the monolithic telco plans to keep its edge (er...) on the competition -- by upping its HSPA service to a whopping 20Mbps come 2009. Our main man Ralph de la Vega said that the process wouldn't require a major overhaul to the provider's infrastructure, and that they're already working on punching up the current 3.6Mbps speeds to 7.2Mbps "in the labs." Apparently, this won't stall plans for forthcoming 4G / 700MHz / LTE service from the company -- it'll just be icing on the cake.

Read - Which 3G network is the best?
Read - AT&T plans 20-megabit 3G by 2009

[Pochi @ May 15th 2008 10:16AM]

That picture just gave me a headache.

Then I held my head up against my CG180 and it cured it.

[blade417 @ May 15th 2008 2:33PM]

I swear that image is moving...

Can't... Look... Away...

[Pochi @ May 15th 2008 2:40PM]

What's up with the highest/lowest rankings? I see them in e-mails, but not on the site. Anywhere.

[Sean @ May 15th 2008 9:13PM]

ATT BRING 3G TO SUFFOLK COUNTY PLEASE WTF? Coverage stops at route 110 aka the nassau county border and starts again in the hamptons what are we chop liver?

[BananaBoat @ May 15th 2008 11:41PM]

If only they'd offer 20mbps home connections.... They have the capability with their U-Verse system, but half of that bandwith is used for TV. What a waste.

Nice to know that atleast the mobile internet will be fast in 2009...even if it's much faster than 99% of our home connections.

[mingistech @ May 15th 2008 10:16AM]

Nice... I can't wait to get my hands on that 3G iPhone... C'mon Apple!

[tom @ May 15th 2008 10:26AM]

real life situation are nowhere close. Look at EDGE, potentially up to 237K. Load some website on your iPhone now, slow as hell. It would be more than ideal if you get 75% of the speed

3G is gonna be faster, but how much in reality is my concern.

[Coward @ May 15th 2008 10:45AM]

I am calling BS on this article, for three reasons:
1) In order for an aircard, on AT&T's network to get 20 mb/s, they MUST FORLIFT ALL BASESTATIONS and replace them with HSPA+ (the next version of HSPA with MIMO which requires all new hardware). Since they have not guided the street with incremental CAPEX spend covering these forklifts, the 20mb/s was mis-spoken. I suspect they were saying 20mb/s per cell site (aggregrate throughput = 7mb/s per sector and 3 sectors at each site = 21mb/s which is realistic, under ideal conditions for HSPA), but your handset/aircard can only get 7 mb/s, under these ideal conditions, no one in that cellsite has a phone call, you are standing/sitting still, no humidity in the air, the wind is blowing from the south and you don't fart, yadda yadda....

2) They are not putting backhaul to support 20mb/s again, cause they have not guided the street with incremental CAPEX / OPEX to support the fiber backhaul needed for 20mb/s.

3) All one has to do, is look at Clearwire who is pulling fiber to support these speeds (and faster) and their CAPEX / OPEX projections. AT&T would need similiar expenditures (albeit not exactly the same due to difference in frequencies).

But, hell, I've been wrong before. :-)

[Matt @ May 15th 2008 10:46AM]

Chance of Steve Jobs including this as a talking point in his iPhone 3g presentation: 100%

[mingistech @ May 15th 2008 11:15AM]

@tom

Thank you Capitan Obvious.. i think we're all aware of theoretical max speed vs. real world speed.

I still want that 3G iPhone though.

[p3t3b2 @ May 15th 2008 11:55AM]

I agree with Coward, I am calling BS on this as well, you are correct Att would need to change all of their base stations and run numerous test, funny how there hasn't been any previous mention of device test on Att, we know the iphone is supposedly a 3G device there isn't any mention of an iphone (or any Att phone) being a HSPA device. Engadget needs to do a better job and fact check this, how can Att upgrade to 3G-Edge and turn around and say "oh by the way, we are running HSPA." You will need to turn right around (again) and change the base station from Edge to HSPA.

For you current iphone owners who think they will have 3G on their device once it is rolled out I have news for you. 3G isn't a software update, you need to buy the new iphone, 3G is the radio.

Also, Sprint will be rolling out Rev-B this year and Rev-C early next year, Sprint and Verizon have upgraded their base stations. Let's say hypothetically this allege speed is possible on Att, customers would not see it for a while.

Just like the 2G iphone the 3G iphone with need a replacement because the 3G iphone will not be able to access HSPA. You will need to buy ANOTHER iphone!!

[tom @ May 15th 2008 11:57AM]

reality check for you

[happy_penguin @ May 15th 2008 12:14PM]

*staring @ Coward like Butthead*

I have no effing idea what you just said but if the speed difference between what ATT claims and what I actually get with my Aircard is any indication, I agree with you 100%. I get nowhere near the claimed speeds.

[darkstar @ May 15th 2008 12:21PM]

im confused too!
though att is faster, why does it take longer to load a website? that dont make no sense man

[DP @ May 15th 2008 2:10PM]

DP calls BS as well. I just don't believe it. And even if it were true, I wouldn't be surprised if they further slid their virtual phallus down the throats of their customers by upping the price.

[Konceptz @ May 22nd 2008 4:59PM]

@Coward.

20Mbps != 20Mb/s

Please refrain from any further technical calculations until you go back to basic Networking school.

[Joe P @ May 15th 2008 4:06PM]

Thank you Konceptz, I was just about to say the same thing.

[erhan @ May 16th 2008 12:12AM]

@ Konceptz

What???

Mb/s is the same as Mbps
(megabits a second vs megabitspersecond)
he did not say MB/s or MBps (not megaBytes)
on wiki it is listed as Mbit/s and Mbps is the same
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbit/s#megabit_per_second

Please explain and why be a troll. He's argument is legit IMO

[duke @ May 16th 2008 12:40AM]

@ erhan:

there are 8 bits in a byte. 1megabit doesn't equal 1megabyte.

YOU FAIL. next time you get cocky and start looking up wikipedia articles maybe you should actually know what you are talking about.

[DMG @ May 15th 2008 10:21AM]

Wow that image hurts to look at.

[duffiecochran @ May 15th 2008 10:21AM]

Can't wait to hear what the Verizon and Sprint fanboys say about this one!

[Flashpoint @ May 15th 2008 10:22AM]

we'll say:

TIME FOR YOU TO GET A NEW iPHONE !

[bondsbw @ May 15th 2008 10:28AM]

Or, just keep the good one I have...

[Tesla @ May 15th 2008 10:32AM]

My question is how is their 3G coverage? If it can't reach me its crap. Thanks Sprint.

[Tesla @ May 15th 2008 10:39AM]

Oh BTW, I live in a rural town of about 23,000 people.

[kev @ May 15th 2008 10:51AM]

You know what I'll say? Pay through the teeth for your plan. I'll stick with my voice/data plan and pay half of what you're paying.

[John @ May 15th 2008 10:58AM]

Why would anyone be a fanboy of a carrier? They rape you for minutes and text messages and not all carriers are offered in all markets.

That being said, I am with Sprint, only because my company is using Sprint Moguls. I like alot of the phones coming out to both carriers and would gladly switch to any carrier that had a phone I liked. I like Sprint over at&t now because their 3G coverage is very small in Connecticut vs Sprints, which blankets the entire state.

Honestly, I dont care if my phone does 7.2Mbps or 3.5 with Rev A.. the phone cant process the data that fast anyway and im not downloading massive files.. just webpages, map information, streaming video, etc.

[myheaditches @ May 16th 2008 10:37AM]

Tesla, it looks a bit like this:

http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/

Click the data tab, and once you zoom in it will show you the different levels of data coverage.

[linderman @ May 15th 2008 11:39AM]

I think I will keep my Verizon and be extremely happy...I am presently writing this from a 75mph moving Amtrak between Denair, CA and Merced, CA and I boarded the train in Lodi, CA and I have not had one glitch...my average speed has been well over 1.3mbps on the download and between 350kbps and 750kbps on the upload...and I have brought my Dlink DIR-450 router for my Verizon PCMCIA card on the train so the other riders can access my connection...

Oh, and by the way, two people on my car have the AT&T 3G card and they are using my WiFi connection because their EDGE connection is so very slow.

Does this answer your questions? You can have all the speed you want, but if you cannot use the card at the speed you are paying that good money for, your speed is absolutely worthless and so is your card!

[Stern @ May 15th 2008 10:22AM]

Guys, schoolboy error on the blur, you should have used a motion blur, rather than what looks like the standard photoshop alcohol blur.

[Ziggy @ May 15th 2008 10:27AM]

I respectfully disagree... this has more of a sine wave appearance than unidirectional motion blur to it which seems more appropriate to the topic/underlying physics.

[jefffaucher @ May 15th 2008 10:27AM]

You, my friend, are a dick. Who really gives a crap that you a re a photoshop nerd?

[Joshua Topolsky @ May 15th 2008 10:26AM]

Schoolboy error on this comment. I used a motion blur.

[7egend @ May 15th 2008 10:30AM]

That is a horizontal motion blur. they should have used the smudge tool and pulled some wisps off the logo to make it look fast, and maybe some 3G flames.

3G iPhone, no thanks. I'll wait for a 4G iPhone or a WiMax iPhone in the future. I spent a good bit of coin on my current iPhone to so quickly replace it. Plus with access to WiFi at work and Home and other POI's the 3G network won't benefit me as much, Plus 3G isn't all that avail. in rural areas.

Now spread that 3G 20mbit to rural areas, and show us urbanites the love over the city dwellers and I might invest the chunk of change it takes to get a new phone.

K Thanks.

[Pochi @ May 15th 2008 10:37AM]

@Joshua Topolsky

You have just made the single biggest dick out of "Stern" in Engadget history.

[CraigJ @ May 15th 2008 10:41AM]

I thought it was just Mr. Blurrycam again...

[Randy @ May 15th 2008 10:44AM]

@ 7egend,

You'll be waiting until at least 2012 for that. Apple signed a 5 year exclusivity agreement w/ at&t. you won't see a 4g iphone for at least that long since 4G hasn't been ratified yet. Wimax? maybe never if sprint goes under.

Good luck, let me know how the wait works out for you...

[mkim @ May 15th 2008 11:10AM]

how can you be a fanboy of a cell phone carrier? anyways, my 3G from at&t never goes that fast in chicago or los angeles.

[mcdan @ May 15th 2008 10:28AM]

will be slower in 2009 with 1 million iphones on it

[Frankenstein Black @ May 15th 2008 10:28AM]

Yeeeaaa sunn! You know how blue doo! They look like sages for dumping TDMA and getting on the GSM/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA/LTE bandwagon. Also good to see the pink T coming along nicely. So V, “can you hear em now?” And S, “where you at?”

[Nando @ May 15th 2008 10:33AM]

LOL!!!!! WTF?!

[Lam Nguyen @ May 15th 2008 1:47PM]

What the hell are you talking about?! I need an Advil.

[Gingerbread Man @ May 15th 2008 10:28AM]

Theres a 3G iPhone coming out? Do you know where I can find some information or rumors of this new 3G iPhone? How cool!

[mcdan @ May 15th 2008 12:50PM]

will be slower in 2009 with 1 million iphones on it

[Rusty @ May 15th 2008 10:30AM]

H*ll, I would be happy to GET 3G. 3rd largest city in the state, and we are "stuck" in edge. Heck, even the state capital has 3G. Well, guess those mucky mucks at the capital can't download pwrn as fast with edge

[Jaime Ferrer @ May 15th 2008 10:51AM]

Oh thank you guys so much. I'm so glad I read this story, partly because of the story itself, but now because I've been trying to control my laughter on the big blur debate.

[Andrew @ May 15th 2008 10:49AM]

Sprint's numbers look very poor on this test. From my phone, sitting at my desk, right now, I get 734 Kbps.

734 0.194s (1024k) spcsdns.net Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 6.12) Sprint:PPC6800

Not to mention I get much more when tethered to a computer.

Obviously this is very dependent on your area, but that being the case, this article is basically pointless unless you live in that specific area.

[sfditty @ May 15th 2008 10:50AM]

Bring on the mobile internet porn!

[cinloykko @ May 15th 2008 10:51AM]

when i first looked at that picture i thought i was drunk... again

[Roost @ May 15th 2008 11:06AM]

jefffaucher - I'm sitting opposite Stern and that comment has made my day, thank you sir!