AT&T LTE Coming in 2011 Courtesy of Alcatel-Lucent & Ericsson

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2010 will not be the year of the mobile 4G networks. Sure Sprint and Clear will roll out WiMAX in more U.S. markets while Verizon Wireless will also toy with its emerging LTE network. But it’s only later next year when we can expect more 4G coverage in the USA and various other markets.

AT&T has apparently decided to partner up with Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson in order to start LTE deployment. AT&T’s future 4G network, something that current and future iPhone and smartphone users will be waiting for, will arrive later next year but we already have some details for you.

Initial trials and deployment will kick off later this year as Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson will provide the necessary equipment for the transition of AT&T’s network from 3G to 4G LTE. The carrier will apparently upgrade its current equipment and software in order to make the move to LTE simpler later next year. LTE and 3G will work simultaneously so you won’t have to change your current phones as soon as AT&T switches on its new speedier 4G network. Moreover you can expect HSPA+ speeds of up to 7.2Mbps to be available in 90% of the markets covered by AT&T by the end of the year.

John Stankey, president and CEO of AT&T Operations said that:

The selection of Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson is an important step forward in our ongoing mobile broadband strategy, which is focused on delivering the best possible combination of speed, performance and available devices for customers at every level of technology deployment. AT&T has a key advantage in that LTE is an evolution of the existing GSM family of technologies that powers our network and the vast majority of the world’s global wireless infrastructure today.

AT&T is ready to spend anywhere between $18 to $19 billion on upgrading its 3G network and I bet some AT&T loyal customers are happy to hear the news. We’ll bring you more LTE updates later this year as soon as AT&T and Verizon are ready to show off their LTE testing results.

And while we’re talking about 3G, 4G and LTE we can only assume that the iPhone 5G will be offering LTE support. Is that something you would be interested in?