AT&T to boost 3G speeds to 20Mbps, HSPA release 7 by 2009

AT&T to boost 3G speeds to 20Mbps, HSPA release 7 by 2009. We've heard 4G LTE Network by AT&T in 2012, Recently AT&T has announced that it plans to roll out its HSPA release 7 network in 2009. The new 3G technology will apparently boost data speeds to 20Mbps - more than 5 times what current AT&T 3G users can expect today.

AT&T's mobility chief Ralph de la Vega, speaking at the Morgan Stanley's annual Communications Conference, also mentioned that engineers already have a version of AT&T's HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) 3G network up and running in the labs at speeds of 7.2 megabits per second, or approximately double the theoretical throughput of its existing network.

The HSPA upgrades are shaping up to solidify AT&T's plans to introduce their 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) data network in a few years. Ralph de la Vega said that AT&T has a "a clear and logical path" to lighting off their LTE network in 2010, enabling 100Mbps data speeds.

"LTE will allow for backwards compatibility to GSM and HSPA, which is a great benefit to customers. And our path forward to LTE allows us to get there step-by-step, with interim steps that will deliver more and more speeds everyday."

Stay tuned.