AT&T Wireless Services Inc. is reportedly set to launch high-speed UMTS services as soon as this summer in select U.S. markets, according to published reports citing sources close to the matter. The reports noted the launch could happen by the end of July.
An AWS spokesman reaffirmed previous comments that the carrier would launch UMTS services in four markets by the end of the year as part of a technology agreement with Japanese wireless giant NTT DoCoMo Inc., and it would not announce the service until it is available in all four markets.
Cingular Wireless L.L.C., which is in the process of acquiring AWS, recently announced plans for a UMTS trial in Atlanta, but it does not expect to begin the widescale deployment of UMTS services until at least the end of next year.
