Today at&t announced a 20 percent increase to the typical download speeds across its 3G wireless network and a 50 percent increase to typical upload speeds.
The mobile operator and exclusive provider for Apple’s iPhone in the US said the upgrades are results of recent network enhancements, including the deployment of High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) technology across all existing 3G markets that is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
Customers on the network should now achieved download speeds between 700 Kbps (kilobits per second) and 1.7 Mbps (megabits per second), up from 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps. Meanwhile, upload speeds should jump to the 500 Kbps - 1.2 Mbps range, up from 500 to 800 Kbps.
The announcement comes just days before Apple is expected to take the wraps off its version 2 iPhone which will use this 3G network.
at&t says its 3G mobile network is available in more than 275 major U.S. metropolitan areas, adding that later this month it will become the first U.S. carrier to have fully deployed High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) technology across its entire 3G network.
By year-end, the company plans to offer 3G service in nearly 350 major metropolitan U.S. areas.
In a recent interview with Australia’s ChannelNews, an unamed Telstra Executive made the following comments:
“We know what is coming, we have seen the new device and it will be available on our network as soon as it is launched in the USA, By christmas this phone will be capable of 42mbs which will make it faster than a lot of broadband offerings and the fastest iPhone on any network in the world.”
If true it would suggest that Apple is building a wireless broadband chip into the new iPhones that support an advanced High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) protocol known as Evolved HSPA.
However, this should be taken with a LARGE grain of salt, since the current speed cap is 7.2 Mbps, which is a hardware cap set by the chip used on the iPhone, and unless the folks at Apple have mass-produced a chip that doesn’t exist yet, it is doubtful that the iPhone will be able to handle these type of download speeds, even if the telecom company Telstra is offering it.