AT&T's HSUPA deployment is nearly complete

With just six more markets to go, AT&T is nearing the finish line for its HSUPA network deployment. The operator expects to have its HSUPA deployment finished by next month, making it the only U.S. operator to have a fully deployed HSPA network. AT&T says that the technology will give subscribers uplink speeds between 500 Kbps and 800 Kbps. Download speeds are in the 1.4 Mbps range.

The timing of AT&T's HSUPA network completion is key because June is when the 3G iPhone is expected to make its debut, giving iPhone users access to much faster network speeds than the current iPhone, which uses AT&T's Edge data network.  AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega said recently that AT&T will have a time-to-market advantage over WiMAX with its HSUPA technology because HSUPA Release 7 will give the company 7 Mbps to 20 Mbps data speeds within the next two years. 

For more:
- see this press release

Related stories:
AT&T: HSPA will provide 20 Mbps data speeds. See this story on AT&T's HSPA plans.
AT&T CTO HSDPA progressing, HSUPA in test phase. See this story on AT&T's HSPA deployment.