AT&T again announced recently that it plans to double the speed of its 3G network in the near future from the current 3.6M to a hefty 7.2M, while laying the groundwork for its upcoming conversion to LTE 4G speeds by 2011.

The increased speed is courtesy of an upgrade to its network to High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology later this year, but will speeds actually peak at what’s promised? Many still believe it won’t. In the past, promises of 1.7M and the current 3.6M speeds have proven controversial, and have even resulted in AT&T and Apple being sued for not delivering on its promises when the original iPhone debuted.

Last June, AT&T said that it had already upgraded its 3G network to reach peak speeds of 1.7M. This past April, the company said that it was doubling its 3G capacity to reach peak speeds of 3.6M, but in reality, many people are still only seeing speeds in the range of 500-700Kbps. A recent survey by Gartner Research showed that all four major U.S. carriers’ 3G networks failed to deliver on customers’ expectations for data rates. Gartner said that it received the most complaints from users about AT&T’s network and that actual mobile network averages are “generally between 300Kbps and 700Kbps lower” than expected for both uplink and downlink speeds

For a 3G network that AT&T has spent an estimated $20 Billion on to build out over recent years, you’d think it could handle the speeds that have been promised. This most likely will come with the transition to LTE technology which is poised to delivery true “mobile broadband” speeds that many have been wishing for, including me. I guess only time will tell.

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Many Apple addicts twiddled their thumbs awaiting the release of the 3G iPhone earlier this year, only to be disappointed by the by the quality of data reception when they got it.

Luckily for iPhone owners, jumping on a Wi-Fi network is an easy way to deal with sporadically crappy reception. Turns out the 3G in the 3G iPhone isn’t quite what it was hyped (and hoped) to be, especially outside of NYC. Its coverage beats the very-slow EDGE network, but it’s still extremely spotty.

Even iPhone owners with good 3G data receiption opt for Wi-Fi over 3G. Last week, San Mateo, Calif.-based mobile advertising company AdMob put out a report highlighting a rise in Wi-Fi usage among iPhone users.

In the US, 42 percent of iPhone Internet requests are made from WiFi, way higher than other Wi-Fi capable phones which average between 10 and 20 percent. 8 percent of total requests in November were on Wi-Fi networks, up from 4 percent in August, according to the report.

The ease of Wi-Fi connecting may be one reason the on-and-off poor receiption of the 3G iPhone is not keeping gadget lovers from purchasing the “invincible” device. Smartphone sales, largely fueled by iPhone sale growth, are defying economic gravity. Thank goodness AT&T bought Wi-Fi hotspots operator Wayport in November, upping the AT&T hotspot count to 80,000 Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the world.

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In Korea–which battles with Finland for the title of mobile capital of the world–the 4G phone may have been born.

LG Electronics yesterday demonstrated the first handset modem chip that’s based on so-called LTE (Long Term Evolution) standards, and that can “theoretically” support wireless download speeds of 100Mbps and upload speeds of 50Mbps. That’s one fast phone! Especially considering that, according to LG, the current fastest phones download at 7.6 Mbps max!

LG claims that because most major cellular network operators are pursing LTE-based 4G technology, and because it’s based on the WCDMA evolutionary path, most carriers using WCDMA will be able to upgrade to LTE networks. LG also points out that Strategy Analytics forecasts the global LTE handset market will be 70 million sales units in 2012, and will more than double to 150 million units by 2013.

While I’m not sure the path to LTE will be as smooth as LG makes it seem, I’m still excited about this first peek at a possible 4G phone. I’ve written ad nauseum about the mobile Internet becoming so common that it will become more important than traditional Internet for marketers to reach consumers. But a phone like what LG proposes means that people can interact better with brands, too. That speedy upload means people will be able to write reviews, respond to blogs, maybe even take part in picture contests while on the go. In turn, 4G will make watching media a smoother experience, making for a multi-channel campaign whose steps are all on the handset.

What do you guys think about 4Gs implications for mobile marketing?

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Almost 24,000 Canadians have signed an online petition at RuniediPhone.com to protest the high priced iPhone plans announced by Rogers. The 3G iPhone is set to debut in 22 countries around the world on July 11th. Evidentially in Canada it will not be a purely joyful introduction.

The Rogers iPhone plans start at $60 per month for 150 weekday minutes, include only 400MB of data and 75 text messages. To get 800 weekday minutes, 2GB of data and 300 text messages the plan costs $115 per month. There are additional iPhone Value Packs for $15 and $20 that include additional text messages and other features, but no add-on data.

If I were Canadian I would sign the petition in a heartbeat – even if I didn’t want to get an iPhone. These rates are sky high and configured ridiculously for a device as powerful as the iPhone. It would be like buying a Ferrari but not filling it with gas. What good is having a beautiful machine that can’t go anywhere?

It is no wonder that Canada’s mobile adoption rate is only near 60% - while Europe and Asia are often 100% or more per capita. Here in the U.S. we have an 80% adoption rate. The reality is that mobile marketing can only take off if consumers are using mobile. Consumers use mobile when it is affordable and powerful. On July 11th, Canada gets one of these.

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Novatel Wireless, who makes a broad range of 3G PC cards and embedded modules has partnered with Autonet Mobile to integrate the Novatel Expedite E725 PCI Express mini card into the Autonet Mobile solution.

If you’ve rented a Car from Avis in the San Francisco area then you’re already familiar with Autonet Mobile, they’re the folks that delivered Avis Connect which enabled your rental car to become a wi-fi hot spot for $10.95 a day.

The solution is going to allow multiple users/devices to connect to the Internet from inside the car at 3G speeds. The E725 (datasheet) is capable of operating in the following spaces:

• EV-DO Rev A
• CDMA2000 1X 800
• 1900 Mhz networks

So what’s this all gonna cost? Well, Autonet Mobile hasn’t gone out of their way to demonstrate what their Products and Services cost, I’d challenge you to go find it on their site. You’ll need to dig deep; real deep… in fact, all the way down to this very first Press Release dated Jan 02, 2007. It indicates that the Autonet Mobile device retails for $399 and has a monthly service charge of $49. Whoa, $49 for 3G speeds? That’s 3.1Mbps if you get it. Compare that to your DSL Price/Speed or Cable Price/Speed. I’m getting Verizon FiOS into my house, 20Mb up and 20Mb down for $44.95 per month. $49 just doesn’t seem reasonable to me.

What do you think; would you pay $49 for this? You could be seeing it as an option in the near future on your next new Car purchase, Autonet is targeting the new car automobile industry in addition to OEM after market add-ons.

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I just read this on RCRWirelessNews and one bit struck me as odd.

“Brown’s announcement also reflected that Motorola’s troubles are deeper than generally acknowledged by the company or analysts. The company has not revealed a follow-on platform to its Razr handset, it missed the global ramp in 3G devices, its smartphone offerings are minimal in a profitable growth area, it made a failed attempt to chase Nokia Corp. in global market share, and has been slow to reveal the depth of its woes.” Read the rest

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I was just about to call it a day when I noticed that I had an unopened cyberguys email. Cyberguys is a kickbutt computer products supplier who I happen to love so I just had to open the email. Anyhow, it catches my attention not because of the email subject but in the main graphic I see this bit about Mobile Wireless Connection Sharing using a 3G Router!

If you’re a mobile geek then you probably just said “sweet”! This hugger is compatible with all 3G Networks including EV-DO, EDGE and UMTS. It also doubles as a 802.11G(no N though).

Here’s the full feature list:

And here are the compatible 3G network cards:

For $269, I think I’m going to buy one if my wife doesn’t catch me doing it I just gotta try this thing out and see how well it operates.

Ok, now I’m closing out for the day but before I do just a reminder that on my About Page I have a full disclosure statement regarding the companies that I choose to blog about. I do not get paid to blog about these companies. I do however run AdSense Ads on my blog. That covers my hosting expenses basically. I do expect to be introducing my own “Sponsors Ad Program” very shortly but that’s another post.

I am a huge fan of Cyberguys and this won’t be the last time I mention them but they’re not paying me to talk their stuff up! If you have mobile related stuff and want it covered, just drop me an email or give me a call. My number is on the About Page.

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