AT&T in no hurry for 4G, talks metered wireless data pricing

Robert Hallock 3 Mar, 2010 at 4:19pm ET Article published in Tech

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson on Tuesday said that his company is actively considering metered wireless data pricing, and is also in no hurry to make the switch to Long Term Evolution (LTE), a 4G standard for voice and data.

In addition to enhancing the robustness of their network with new towers throughout 2010, Stephenson said that another way to stretch the network’s bandwidth is to charge heavier users a higher monthly fee. This metered model differs from the current US standard wherein carriers charge about $30 for 5GB of monthly bandwidth.

Stephenson also told analysts attending the Morgan Stanley conference that the company isn’t rushing to deploy LTE, the 4G standard likely to close the technological divide separating Verizon from AT&T and T-Mobile. Though deployment is expected to begin in 2011, a year later than chief rival Verizon Wireless, Stephenson remained optimistic about the company’s 3G plans to handle the increased traffic over the next few years.

“We’re not in a tremendous hurry on LTE,” Stephenson said.

Comments

3 Mar 2010 ~ 4:51pm Chooch well they better decide before my contact with t-mobile is up XD
3 Mar 2010 ~ 5:04pm RyanMM I'm going to need to get a bigger palm to do this epic facepalm correctly.
3 Mar 2010 ~ 9:37pm ardichoke I wonder how long it will take Apple to abandon their exclusivity with this sinking ship now?
3 Mar 2010 ~ 10:23pm Kwitko Dear Lord,

I don't ask for much, but please, please, please let me find a way out of my AT&T contract. Every time my wife calls me I hear "He*crackle*o Se*crackle*, I'm *weird mechanical sound*, so please, whatever you do, make sure you don't *disconnect*"
3 Mar 2010 ~ 10:52pm Cliff_Forster

Kwitko wrote:

Dear Lord,

I don't ask for much, but please, please, please let me find a way out of my AT&T contract. Every time my wife calls me I hear "He*crackle*o Se*crackle*, I'm *weird mechanical sound*, so please, whatever you do, make sure you don't *disconnect*"

I paid the AT&T ETF and am using T-Mobile pre paid. I'm never getting another cell contract as long as I live.
3 Mar 2010 ~ 11:05pm djmeph Apple still has a long way to go to catch up with other smartphones before they worry about 4G support. If we use their history as a model, 4G probably won't be available until they release the 6th generation iPhone, long after every other smartphone supports it.
4 Mar 2010 ~ 8:49am Snarkasm But when they do, it'll be the most revolutionary jump in wireless speed the world's ever seen.
5 Mar 2010 ~ 9:22am AlexDeGruven I love AT&T so much. The help remind us all what it used to be like dealing with cell phone companies before some of them started doing things like providing real services and customer service.