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AT&T Says 7.2Mbps Wireless Coming This Year

Posted by timothy on from the ubiquity-should-be-more-widespread dept.

CWmike writes "AT&T will upgrade to High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 wireless networking technology later this year, offering faster (up to 7.2 Mbit/sec.) network speeds to new compatible laptop cards and smartphones due to be released at the same time, the company said today. Current HSPA download speeds can theoretically reach 3.6 MBit/sec, according to AT&T executives who commented on the planned upgrade in April. AT&T did not comment on which laptop cards and smartphones will be compatible with HSPA 7.2 other than to say it will introduce 'multiple' devices later this year. Could this be one of the big iPhone announcements to come from WWDC?"

7 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Wireless by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Haha. This is AT&T. You'll be limited to 3GB a month. 7.2 is burst not sustained. And if your neighbor thinks like you do, you'll both be using the same tower. Somehow I doubt AT&T is going to run fiber to each tower to support a large number of users.

  2. Theoretically... by againjj · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Current HSPA download speeds can theoretically reach 3.6 MBit/sec,

    There is no difference between theory and practice in theory, but there is in practice.

  3. $$$ per 'tube' by Locutus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    sure, they'll let you use port 80, 8080, and maybe even 443 but what cost is the freedom to use the bandwidth for what _you_ want to use it for? Didn't I see where T-Mobile's G1 _unlimited_ data plan bills you extra for Chat and IM and I would guess they block the standard VOIP port(s) too.

     

    The Internet may be thought of by some as a "bunch of tubes" but these companies are carving it up so they control what you do on the "tube". Speed isn't the only thing that's important here.

     

    LoB

    --
    "Anyone who stands out in the middle of a road looks like roadkill to me." --Linus
  4. They ran fibre to our local tower. by yourassOA · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "New high speed internet" they said, "faster than anything you seen before". Now I could be wrong but for some reason cell service went to shit. Coincidence? I live 2 miles away from the tower with direct line of sight. And the problem isn't just signal strength but weird noises, echoes and interference.

    1. Re:They ran fibre to our local tower. by IorDMUX · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Oddly enough, "direct line of sight" actually decreases the data rate of MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) systems like HSPA. As MIMO uses the multiple physical wireless channels created by obstructions and reflections between a set of antennas at both transmitter and receiver to increase the bandwidth, a perfectly clear path hurts your data rate. Unless there are obstacles to bounce the signal around a bit, you only get one physical channel, as the path between any pair of antennas is essentially the same.

      In practice, such pure physical channels usually only appear out in the open countryside--and besides, if you are referring to AT&T's EDGE or non-HSPA 3G, then it isn't MIMO... just crappy AT&T.

      But it's nice to know, isn't it?

      --
      >> Standing on head makes smile of frown, but rest of face also upside down.
  5. One word... by ComboWombo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Backhaul You can have 7.2Mbps to the base station, but from all accounts, the backhaul from said base stations SUCKS, so you won't get anywhere near that. Thats the sneaky trick. They offer UP TO 7.2Mpbs, but really its dependant on backhaul, and how said backhaul has been configured. Expect throughput of about 500kbps

    --
    Combat Wombat - Heavy outback ordanance.
  6. just means you'll hit ATT's 5GB limit even sooner by deisher · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Even if we assume that their speed claims are true, the benefit of this new product will be severely limited if ATT Wireless retains their currently policy of charging $0.25/MB once users hit their monthly limit of 5GB. I finally gave up on ATT because it was such a pain to monitor my usage and stop normal broadband activity (e.g., youtube, etc.) near the end of every month when I got close to the limit.