AT&T isn’t expected to launch an LTE network until the middle or end of 2011, but that doesn’t mean they can’t start selling devices to support their next generation of mobile broadband. The first of three USB modems announced by AT&T, the “Adrenaline” made by LG [pictured above] will run you only $50 with a 2 year contract. You also need a data plan, obviously, but it’s tough to tell how much of a deal this is because we’re not going to know what AT&T is going to charge for LTE until they actually switch it on. Next up is “Shockwave”, made by Sierra Wireless. It supports HSPA+, which AT&T says they’ll activate across their entire 3G network by the end of this year. As far as we know, AT&T’s HSPA+ will only go up to 14.4 Mbps, unlike T-Mobile who is currently in the process of lighting up 21 Mbps HSPA+ across the country with plans to double that during 2011. Finally, for the people who would rather not be tied to a monthly bill for the next 2 years of their life, there’s the “900” made by Huawei. It’s going to cost $80 and … that’s all we know.
The Adrenaline and 900 are due in stores on the 17th of this month, and the Shockwave has yet to be given a launch date. Compared to Verizon’s USB sticks, and what Clearwire is offering, this isn’t really a bad deal, but nor is it a good one. We’ll have to wait until later today when Verizon is supposedly due to announce more details about their upcoming LTE launch. The first products to utilize the new network will undoubtly be USB sticks, but how they’ll be priced, and more importantly how the data packages will be tiered, will dictate how fast people are going to pick them up.
Knowing Verizon, expect their LTE to cost a lot until AT&T launches their respective network. Then the price battle begins.