AT&T 3G Network Gets Nationwide Upgrade [AT&T Announces the Completion of First Stage to Nationwide HSPA 7.2 Mbps 3G Upgrade]

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AT&T has announced that it has completed “a software upgrade at 3G cell sites nationwide that prepares the nation’s fastest 3G network for even faster speeds.” In other words AT&T has just told everyone that it can’t offer 7.2Mbps speeds nationwide just yet but it’s getting there.

While T-Mobile has completed its nationwide 7.2 Mbps HSPA network upgrade already, AT&T is still working on that. Sure T-Mobile’s 3G network is still very limited compared to everyone else but that’s not an excuse for AT&T. The company has been making lots of money off the iPhone in the last couple of years and some of that revenue should have been already invested in upgrading the 3G network.

Let’s not forget that in crowded metropolitan areas, AT&T iPhone users are still complaining about poor service and dropped calls although they should have no problem using AT&T’s current 3G network. The upcoming 7.2 Mbps upgrade should be more than welcomed but don’t expect overnight miracles to happen. The process of moving to 7.2 Mbps HSPA is long and AT&T will finish it at some point next year. Currently six U.S. cities will enjoy the faster speeds. These are Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami but more markets will be able to get speedier data by the end of 2010 and in 2011.

After the software update that AT&T completed, the company will move to the next phase, which is backhaul upgrades to the network which will get everything ready for 7.2 Mbps HSPA. The upgrades will go on through 2010 and well into 2011 so it’s going to take a while until AT&T can brag with nationwide 7.2 Mbps HSPA connectivity.

Furthermore, it looks like these backhaul upgrades are going to be very important to LTE development. The upgraded cell sites should be able to deal both with 3G+ and LTE connection in the near future. LTE trials will begin later this year while LTE deployment will start at some point next year. In the mean time we will be waiting for the carrier to offer more phones that can deal with 7.2 Mbps speeds and even LTE, but it’s too early to talk about that right now.

How’s AT&T treating you this year? Any dropped calls to complain about?