AT&T: True 4G Will Roll Out in 2013
Carrier said to have plans to "fire up" LTE Advanced in 2013.
AT&T's annual meeting with analysts saw the U.S. carrier stressing that it'll be "firing up" new "LTE Advanced" service across its network during the second half of 2013.
LTE Advanced is effectively 4G LTE but, well, more advanced. "AT&T's network strategy revolves around a simple 4G message that incorporates the company's vast HSPA+ and LTE networks that stretch over its entire footprint," the analysts wrote.
"The network strategy will involve mainly LTE networks and LTE Advanced networks, which AT&T will begin firing up in 2H13. These enhanced networks will provide faster speeds and coverage to its subscriber base, as well as open up growth opportunities in new segments."
AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said the carrier is aiming to deploy LTE Advanced sometime next year, but refused to comment on the matter further.
The company, which has sold 6.4 million smartphones during the fourth quarter thus far, recently added six LTE markets to its wireless network, subsequently offering its service to 150 million consumers.
It had previously said it'll invest $14 billion in upgrading its network within a duration of three years. By the end of 2014, the firm plans to offer 4G LTE coverage to 300 million consumers.

Yeah. Verizon started calling their 3G 4G and then ATT jumped on the bandwagon and did the same. Last time I looked the 4G standard called for 100Mbps download speed.
Just because the standard allows for it, that doesn't mean providers' backbones can support it. The LTE Advanced standard, as laid out by the ITU-R, allows for up to 1Gbps download, and 500mbps uploads. Will you ever see that? Not a chance.
big yay...
Personally if there is a data cap when it comes to web service I avoid it period. Got a crappy service that is light years behind everyone else but at least I can download as much as I want adding up to hundreds of gigabytes a month. With data caps cloud and streaming services become almost impossible to make the most let alone enjoy.
In March 2008, the International Telecommunications Union-Radio communications sector (ITU-R) specified a set of requirements for 4G standards, named the International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-Advanced) specification, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 megabits per second (Mbit/s) for high mobility communication (such as from trains and cars) and 1 gigabit per second (Gbit/s) for low mobility communication (such as pedestrians and stationary users).[
Just to be clear, this is theoretical transfer speeds, which are NEVER achieved in actual use. Remember your trusty USB 2.0 device (whatever it may be) it has a theoretical transfer speed of 480 Mbps, but you're lucky to see anything over 25-30 Mbps. Take a look at your fastest 6 Gbps SSD, good luck getting it to transfer anything more than 550 Mbps, no where near the 6 Gbps speed it states. There are so many factors that hinder and prevent anyone from achieving the theoretical speeds. But in a perfect world, yes the Verizon LTE could hit 100 Mbps or higher; therefore, it meets the classification of 4G LTE.
correct. my reply was to Otacon72 who stated "There is no 4G "standard" it's made up clarification."
LTE is NOT 4G. The 4G specification was required to have download speeds of 100 Mbps minimum. LTE does not do that. Therefore Verizon claiming their LTE is 4G, which they have done for a few years, was a lie.