AT&T Continues To Roll Out Updates To 3G Network

If you have AT&T, then you're probably fully aware that their 3G network isn't necessarily the best, or the most reliable. "Or even the fastest." But, they're still going strong (iPhone...), and so they're trying their best to update their 3G network in a lot of places. Sure, they're sticking to the more populated areas like San Francisco and New York, but hopefully AT&T will keep the updates coming, so maybe everyone has a shot at it.

Earlier in the week, AT&T upgraded the 3G network in Atlanta, and on Wednesday they did the same to San Francisco. Mark Siegel, an AT&T spokesman, went over the minor details regarding the update, saying, "That spectrum was what we used for the older TDMA technology. It is excellent spectrum because it propagates the signal much better. When we deploy it, people really notice significant improvements." They're doing this update by adding AT&T's 3G to the already existing 850MHz spectrum. The idea is to relieve some of the stress that AT&T's 1900MHz spectrum was feeling from heavy usage, especially by iPhone users. By adding the spectrum, voice calls can be clearer and data transfers faster.

The 1900MHz spectrum is also notorious for not being able to penetrate buildings all that much, so the 850MHz improves this as well. The previous upgrades, including the one today, is part of the "3G on 850" roll out planned for the rest of the year. The same upgrade is currently in the process over in San Francisco. AT&T is also planning on rolling out 7.2 HSDPA at the end of this year and continuing into 2011. Currently, the iPhone 3GS is the only phone that can take advantage of the upcoming network, but there are also two USB modems on their network to access the higher data speeds.

[via Yahoo! Tech]