AT&T's LTE network launching in five US markets on Sunday

Shawn Knight

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AT&T’s anticipated high-speed LTE wireless network will launch in five US cities on September 18. The news was made public by AT&T CFO John Stephens during the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Entertainment & Communications conference in Beverly Hills, California as first reported by Fierce Wireless.

AT&T’s first wave of LTE service will kick off in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio on Sunday. The wireless provider launched two 4G LTE connectivity devices last month in anticipation of the network rollout, the USBConnect Momentum 4G and the Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G.

The USBConnect Momentum 4G sells for $49.99 with a two-year service agreement or $249.99 with no commitment. The Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G comes in at $69.99 with a two-year contract or $269.99 without ties.

The $50 monthly service provides five gigabytes of data and overages are billed at $10 for each additional gigabyte used. If you already own a USBConnect Adrenaline dongle, you can visit AT&T’s Adrenaline page to download a firmware update to enable LTE on this device.

AT&T's first LTE tablet, the HTC Jetstream, launched on September 4 although the ridiculous $700 price point made it irrelevant before it hit shelves.

The company plans to add 10 additional markets by the end of the year, covering 70 million Americans as 2012 arrives. AT&T has a lot of catching up to do, as Verizon Wireless continues their LTE rollout in 26 additional cities today. Consumers can choose from 11 devices to access 4G LTE on Verizon's network, according to a company press release.

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"The $50 monthly service provides five gigabytes of data"

What a joke!! God I wish the FCC would do their job and make this crap illegal.

If you want to provide broadband service you should have to provide truly unlimited service at a reasonable price by law.

At least that's is how it should be and should have happened years ago. And not just for wireless but wired services too.
 
Wi-Fi is very easy to find nowadays. I just checked my bill from Sprint over the last 6 months for my wife and I and combined we've never gone over 2GB a month. Of course, our 3G connection is so slow it makes netflix and youtube impossible to use, but 5GB seems like plenty to me if you're not replacing your home broadband with it.

FYI, the FCC and govt don't tell companies what they're allowed to sell (well, not till the heathcare bill comes into effect anyway.) If you want your govt to have that much control you can probably find a communist country where that's how it works, but then you'd only be able to view web pages that they approve and filter for you.
 
Hey I agree wholeheartedly! Bought the Samsung Suckrocket last week and was up to 600 MB in a single day. Someone was using the Skyrocket at full LTE speeds for a day and it was 6 GB before throttling on his grandfathered unlimited plan.

Plus there is no way to turn off the LTE radio or downgrade signal with in an LTE-covered area on all AT&T phones. It is a complete joke to own one of these if you are on a capped plan.

One month hasn't passed yet and only 5 cities live. Once some more people start complaining maybe they will listen? But I don't think it will be for many months or until the T-Mobile deal is finalized if it ever happens.
 
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