AT&T plan to expand its third - generation ( 3 gramme ) wireless broadband serving to more than 80 additional metropolis throughout 2008 .

That expansion would bring AT&T ’s 3 G reporting to intimately 350 major U.S. mart , admit all 100 of the heavy city , the carrier say in a statement today . The initiative will require AT&T to build more than 1,500 extra cell locations nationwide .

The carrier wave also said it will dispatch its High Speed Uplink Packet Access - enabled net by midyear , tolerate laptops equipped to receive data via HSUPA to more chop-chop send large files and business practical program wirelessly .

AT&T ’s World Wide Web situation describes its current 3 G internet as a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System / High Speed Downlink Packet Access ( UMTS / HSDPA ) or Broadband Connect electronic internet , declare oneself speeds of 400Kbit / sec . to 700Kbit / sec . But in Wednesday ’s declaration , AT&T said it is now fork out downlink speeds of 600Kbit / sec . to 1,400Kbit / sec . and uplink speeds of 500Kbit / sec . to 800Kbit / sec .

Such web speed claims are puzzling and fairly donnish , said Jack Gold , an analyst at J. Gold Associates in Northboro , Mass. That ’s because they do not reflect a meshing divvy up by many people , which can slow up down data - transfer speeds .

AT&T has been widely criticized by iPhone exploiter who must rely on the postman ’s Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution ( EDGE ) web , which is much slower than UMTS / HSDPA , with download speeds of 70Kbit / sec . to 135Kbit / sec .

amber notice that user might be constrained by the slowest meshwork applied science when making a voice or datum call , plainly because web routing technology will choose the most commodious tract .

In general , AT&T ’s current internet offerings are “ a fiddling bit slower ” than Verizon Wireless ’ EVDO - Rev. A electronic internet , which is used by laptop computer equip with wideband data cards , Gold said . AT&T face competition from Verizon and Sprint Nextel for peregrine workers interested in using wideband laptop cards , although AT&T has begun selling some HSUPA - able cards .

Phillip Redman , an psychoanalyst at Gartner , said that AT&T ’s annunciation Wednesday might be intended to support sales of more laptop poster . He also said it point that AT&T is hoping to support more wireless equipment , including a succeeding version of the iPhone . “ They do n’t want iPhone users to use Wi - Fi vs. cellular , ” he said in an e - mail .

In addition , he enjoin that AT&T realized the biggest complaint of wireless substance abuser is the need for more coverage .

Craig Mathias , an analyst at The Farpoint Group in Ashland , Mass. , said the enlargement is “ what you ’d expect , so I would n’t translate too much into it . ”

AT&T could not be attain for remark on its plans . The meshwork expansion is likely to be welcome news for customers who require faster access in more places , Gold said . “ It ’s a natural advance for AT&T , but the really liberal ontogenesis will be in three to five years when they deploy LTE [ Long Term Evolution ] , ” he said .