AT&T, the largest mobile carrier in the US, announced it will expand its 3G wireless broadband service to more than 80 new cities across the country, until the end of 2008. After more than 1,500 additional cell sites are rolled out and the expansion is completed, AT&T's 3G services will be available to nearly 350 top US markets, including the country's 100 most important cities.

This move from AT&T also comes in order to prepare its network for the second generation iPhone that will be 3G-enabled and should hit the market somewhere at the end of 2008 / beginning of 2009. Other plans that the US carrier has include the finalization of the nation's first HSUPA-enabled network (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) that will provide subscribers with faster data transfer speeds.

"Fast wireless broadband is the foundation for a whole range of new and emerging applications that our customers are adopting, including everything from social networking to sending live video and large business files," said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO for AT&T's wireless division. "With these aggressive initiatives, we're expanding the scope and the speed of our 3G capabilities, connecting people with their world and enabling more customers to do more with their wireless devices, wherever they may be. We're also planning for the future by establishing a clear path to a 4G network that will meet the needs of our customers for years to come."

The 2008 deployment of HSUPA is the next step towards the new AT&T 3G network, with additional improvements and speed enhancements expected to come in the future. The HSUPA deployment will complete the network's transformation to HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) standards, and marks the only integral transition by any US wireless carrier to this latest generation of broadband capabilities.

"From the beginning, our wireless network has been designed with the future in mind," Mr. de la Vega said. "The capabilities of 3G standards will continue to expand over the next several years, enabling us to stay well ahead of our customers' broadband needs. And looking even further into the future, our existing technologies provide the ideal platform for a smooth transition to next-generation platforms."