14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone carrier AT&T is gearing up for the launch of its true 4G network, based on the LTE technology, which would reportedly offer great speeds to users.
AT&T might be late to the 4G party, but it seems that the carrier did its homework thoroughly, as the upcoming network would be able to easily top Verizon's LTE airwaves in speed tests.
In a recent article, GigaOm notes that they already had the chance to get a taste of AT&T's LTE network, and that things look more than encouraging.
At 28.7 Mbps speeds on the downlink, they certainly were. On the uplink, the network would top 10.4 Mbps, it seems.
For comparison purposes, it should be noted that Verizon currently promises 5-12 Mbps for downloads, and 5 Mbps when uploads are involved.
Of course, Verizon's network offers those speeds in real world, and AT&T's airwaves should offer about the same performance when fired up.
Currently, AT&T is offering so called 4G services through its HSPA+ network, but the speeds that would be available through LTE should be significantly higher.
No specific info on when would the wireless carrier be able to turn the 4G LTE airwaves on emerged for the time being, but some suggest that it might not be too long before that happens.
According to some of the latest reports on this, the carrier might plan on offering LTE as soon as next month.
However, there are also those who suggest that AT&T would not have LTE switched on until next year.
One of the most successful handsets at this carrier was the Apple iPhone, and the company might be set to wait for the next flavor of the device, which would supposedly land next year with support for LTE networks, rumor has it.
For the time being, however, the one thing that we can be sure of would be that AT&T is preparing some speedy LTE treats for its users, something to make them forget about the carrier's past mistakes.