AT&T Upgrades to 7.2 Mbps... Sort Of

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=30358' target='_blank'>http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?p...articleid=30358</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"AT&amp;T today announced completion of a software upgrade at 3G cell sites nationwide that prepares the nation's fastest 3G network for even faster speeds. The deployment of High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 technology across 3G cell sites is the first of multiple initiatives in AT&amp;T's network enhancement strategy designed to provide customers with the best possible mobile broadband experience, both today and well into the future. After full testing of HSPA 7.2 software, AT&amp;T decided to expedite deployment of this initial upgrade, which will result in a better overall customer experience by generally improving consistency in accessing data sessions. The software upgrade also prepares the network for faster speeds and increases network efficiency."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com//wpt/auto/1262754497.usr2.gif" /></p><p>Considering many of the world's networks already support speeds of 7.2 Mbps, 14 Mbps, and 21 Mbps, with 42 Mbps in the works, AT&amp;T's upgrade to 7.2 Mbps doesn't seem all that exciting. But it gets worse. Not all sites actually support 7.2 Mbps yet. Upgrades have commenced in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami, but a nationwide roll-out isn't expected until 2011. It's a bit like popping a kid's balloon on carnival day.</p>

[djdj]

Conversely, T-Mobile has completed the 7.2 Mbps upgrade across their entire 3G network, and they are adding 3G to new cities at a rate of at least 1 per day.

P.S. These full page ads have got to go. Having to wait for them really makes me want to leave the site and go somewhere else. I don't mind ads, but full page ads with a required delay are too intrusive.

[Darius Wey]

P.S. These full page ads have got to go. Having to wait for them really makes me want to leave the site and go somewhere else. I don't mind ads, but full page ads with a required delay are too intrusive.

I guess this is getting off-topic, but which ads are you referring to exactly? We have banner ads, but no full-page ads. :confused:

[Craig Horlacher]

I wish they would finish rolling out 3g. I have a 3g phone and many places where I go, including home, I still can't get 3g service. At least it works at work. I think it's really stupid they're even bothering with the 7Mb since most mobile devices can't even saturate 1Mb links. Laptop users will like it.

[Craig Horlacher]

I guess this is getting off-topic, but which ads are you referring to exactly? We have banner ads, but no full-page ads. :confused:
I got the ad a number of times too. I don't remember what it is for. It shows some analog gauges. It makes you wait while it "loads the page" in the background and then you can click a "skip" link to go to the page (where you are trying to go) or you can wait another 15 seconds or so while it counts down. It is very annoying.