Washington Developments Spur AT&T 4G Deployment, CEO Says
LAS VEGAS -- Recent tax law incentives and other policy developments allowed AT&T to accelerate its 4G rollout beginning this year, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets CEO Ralph de la Vega told about 2,000 developers meeting here prior to the start of the CES convention. He said LTE deployment will be largely complete in 2013, and the company will deploy 20 new 4G devices this year.
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"2011 will be a defining year for the industry and this company because of 4G,” de la Vega said. Actual LTE deployment will begin about mid-year, he said, but the combination of HSPA+ and expanded backhaul is already providing 4G-equivalent speeds of about 6 Mbps in “key markets.” He said AT&T is offering the 4G-equivalent service on a cell-by-cell basis, depending on where it would be most used, and will roll it out rapidly.
One of the key developments is the rapid growth of the tablet PC market, which is expected to triple this year, said David Christopher, AT&T chief wireless marketing officer. He said the company will add a 4G-capable tablet in the second quarter and another this summer: “This is just starting."
AT&T also committed to deploy more than 12 new Android devices this year, and will offer two 4G smartphones this quarter. It will offer five to seven 4G devices in the first half of the year, officials said. Among its devices will be an exclusive on the Motorola Atrix 4G, the HTC Inspire 4G, and the Samsung Infuse 4G.