AT&T launches LTE in 5 cities

AT&T (NYSE:T) on Sunday turned on its LTE network in five cities: Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, Atlanta and Chicago.

The company, which expects to deploy LTE across 70 million POPs in 15 markets by year-end, has seeded the market with LTE devices prior to the launch. The company began selling its first two LTE devices--the USB Connect Momentum 4G modem and the Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G, both made by Sierra Wireless--on Aug. 21. The devices are available for $49.99 and $69.99, respectively, with a two-year contract after a $50 mail-in rebate. AT&T also said that its HSPA+ USB modem, the USBConnect Adrenaline from LG, could be upgraded to LTE starting Aug. 26 via a software update.

In addition, the company recently launched its first LTE tablet, the HTC Jetstream, for $700 with a two-year contract or $850 without a contract. It has said it plans to launch its first LTE smartphone by year-end.

In August, AT&T revealed that it will charge $50 for 5 GB of data for its data-only LTE devices; it did not reveal potential LTE smartphone data pricing.

For more:
- see this PCMag article

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