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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With the onset of mobile broadband from almost every carrier, will Wi-Fi still have its place in the market?  Will it truly be needed once a broadband connection can be used- not only at home and in the office but everywhere else as well?  The wireless carriers say yes.

Beyond that, carriers are making strides to partner with broadband providers to offer access to hotspots all across the country in hopes of subsidizing their own networks and providing coverage in areas where mobile broadband signals aren’t the strongest.

Qwest, for example, has partnered with AT&T to offer its high-speed Internet subscribers free access to over 17,000 hotspots, it said recently, and Verizon Communications is getting ready to partner with Boingo Wireless to do the same.  Carriers and broadband providers alike believe Wi-Fi will always maintain its relevancy due to cheaper international data roaming, much better indoor coverage and the ubiquity of built-in support for the technology.

No matter how advanced and ubiquitous mobile broadband becomes, Wi-Fi will always compliment it nicely due to several advantages. Read the rest

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Ever hear of Xanadoo? I read about them on Information Week earlier today (here). They’re carving out a nice niche for themselves. They’ve partnered with Navini to provide and deploy a Mobile WiMAX solution for rural markets where traditional network connectivity just doesn’t exist. Xanadoo provides the modems and network connectivity and Navini is providing the mobile wireless network infrastructure.

Last week Xanadoo reported 12,000 subscribers in 4 rural markets! It’s easy to see why this is an attractive offer for consumers that are unable to get DSL or Cable. Xanadoo has consumer friendly mobile internet service plans and a dirt simple zero install plug and play wireless modem.

• 5 desktop modem plans (no phone or cable service requirements)
• A PCMCIA plan
• A low end plan that starts at $14.95 per month
• No annual service plan options

Naturally, not all customers are on the $14.95 plan, do the math, these folks are generating some revenue in just 4 markets. They have 2.5GHz licenses in the following markets which covers 8M people.

• Texas
• Arkansas
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Oklahoma
• West Virginia

They’re barely scratching the surface with 12,000 subscribers and have a great opportunity to grow considerably.

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If you’re a mobile broadband geek you might want to check out WiMAX World which is set to kick off later this Month in Chicago. I know some folks that I work with that should be attending this thing but I just found out about the show tonight. It’s being billed as the world’s largest Mobile/Wireless Broadband Event focused on WiMAX.

Though this page indicates 3,700 attendees, it’s actually over 4,300 now according to the graphic on the home page. Here’s the WiMAX World conference schedule and you can pick up a free WiMAX World Expo Pass too.

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According to Ridley Scott it is and he doesn’t like seeing his art form getting commercialized down to the mobile screen. In fact Ridley believes it’s killing cinema.

“Director Ridley Scott has lashed out at technology which allows people to watch films on mobile phones and computer screens, arguing it is killing cinema.

Great films should be watched on a big screen in a movie theatre, he said.”

I think he and the film industry should to find a way to embrace it or they might be drinking from the same cup of regret that the Music Industry guzzled. Go read what Don Dodge has to say about the history of Napster and you’ll quickly realize that the artists and music industry executives may have made one of the biggest blunders of all time by not embracing technology.

You gotta wonder why the guy didn’t see it coming to a certain degree don’t you? I mean Ridley, I hate to bring you more bad news but you live in a time where you can potentially see a major motion picture go straight to something like YouTube.

The possibility also exists that the Theatre Channel collapses all-together eventually doesn’t it? I don’t think it’s mobile that you have to worry about though Ridley, you should be losing sleep over HD and Fiber Optic Networks though. HD and Fiber doesn’t kill cinema, it merely moves it into my living room where I’m not paying 2000% markups on the popcorn and soda.

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Forbes mentioned that Sprint Nextel and Clearwire are building out a mobile broadband network using WiMAX technologies.

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