AT&T may start rolling out its LTE-Advanced network in the second half of 2013 if a rumor is to be believed. If correct, it would see AT&T effectively catching up to Verizon's
LTE lead with the next generation of 4G access, with potential average download speeds of 100Mbps being quoted for the technology.
Analysts from TBR made the claim in a report written based on "comments AT&T executives made at the company's Consumer Analyst Conference in Atlanta" in November, according
to FierceWireless. Though AT&T has
confirmed it wishes to enable LTE-Advanced technology on its masts in 2013, it has yet to issue a date that it would do so, however it did pledge to spend
$8 billion on its wireless expansion plans, with the ultimate aim of covering 250 million US residents with access to LTE-based mobile broadband by the end of the year.
LTE-Advanced has the capability to offer a significant jump in connection speeds through carrier aggregation, namely combining multiple spectrum channels into one. A test in
South Korea in January last year showed the technology peaking at 600Mbps, with the demonstration showing a CD-sized 700MB movie being transferred in 9.3 seconds, as well as streaming footage to a 3D TV while traveling in a test vehicle.
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