Major 3G Network Coverage Expansion for 2008 Planned by AT&T

This week major wireless network, AT&T has announced some of their major plans for 2008.

The mobile phone industry is grown steadily and the needs of wireless customers also evolve and grow unceasingly. This expansion will allow the company to continuously evolve its network to meet the ever growing needs and demands of the wireless community. To continue delivering higher speeds and capacity for the future, AT&T aims to focus on the evolution towards HSPA+ and LTE technologies.

The network released a statement indicating they plan to make high speed wireless Web connection more accessible by creating a wider network for mobile customers. To achieve this vision, the wireless network will deploy third-generation (3G) wireless broadband services to more than 80 additional US cities.

When this massive expansion plan for this year is complete, AT&T 3G services will be available to nearly 350 leading U.S. markets. No less than 1,500 additional cell sites will be necessary to attain this 3G initiative. That should give you a picture of the immensity of this project.

At&T also mentioned other plans that will be initiated this year. Oner of them is building the nation's first High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA)-enabled network. This project is expected to be completed by the middle of 2008.

When thisa new generation technology is completed, the wireless network will deliver faster uplink speeds. This means that sending large files in a shorter amount of time will be possible for AT&T's HSUPA-enabled laptop users. They will also be able to take full advantage of the latest interactive Internet and business applications when the HSUPA enabled network becomes operational.

The evolution of AT&T's 3G network will not be possible without the deployment of the HSUPA network. Further enhancements and speed boosts will follow if the initials stages of the expansion has been established. The transition of the AT&T 3G network to High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) standards will be completed only after the deployment of the HSUPA network.

Ralph de la Vega, the president and CEO for AT&T's wireless unit released this statement,

"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. 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."

It seems that AT&T wants to start this year with the right foot. The competition in the lucrative wireless phone industry is very tight so getting every possible advantage over the competiton will spell success. If the wireless network can sucessfully expand their networks and complete the tranistion into HSPA+ and LTE technologies, then they will have a significant edge over their rivals.

I hope that these developments will also produce positive changes for wireless consumers. Perhaps the stiff competition among wireless networks will result in the best services and products for us wireless consumers.