Citing an astronomical increase in mobile data traffic driven by video, AT&T highlighted upcoming LTE-A, 5G technology and fiber plans.
Following up on network progress reports by T-Mobile US and Sprint, AT&T highlighted its work with current LTE deployments, plans for “5G” and other support technologies as it moves into 2017. AT&T noted the network moves would be needed to help the operator deal with the 250,000% increase in data traffic moving across its mobile network since 2007, with a majority coming from video streaming.
The telecom giant said planned upgrades to its LTE-Advanced network are expected to support network speeds of up to one gigabit per second at some cell sites this year. Those upgrades are set to include the use of carrier aggregation, with what it terms three-way carrier aggregation planned for some areas and plans to introduce four-way carrier aggregation. AT&T also highlighted plans to densify its network with small cells and tap into the LTE license assisted access technology this year.
Those LTE moves are said to be foundational for the carrier as it moves deeper into 5G network trials, which to this point include collaborations with more than a dozen companies and has so far shown speeds of up to 14 Gbps and network latency of less than three milliseconds in lab trials.
In terms of new plans, AT&T said it will conduct a trial in Austin, Texas, where customers will be able to stream its DirecTV Now video service over a fixed wireless connection. The trial, which is planned for the first half of 2017, is set to include multiple sites and devices, and use millimeter wave spectrum assets.
AT&T, along with rival Verizon Communications, had recently stated they expected initial 5G network deployments to center on fixed broadband uses, where a carrier can use early technical specifications to power enhanced equipment able to support both higher data speeds and greater capacity.
Brian Daly, director of core and government and regulatory standards at AT&T, said at the recent 5G North America event that AT&T was looking at such a move in order to get a handle on growing demand for video streaming services, noting video support was “probably one of the big use cases that we see,” with the carrier looking to take advantage of its diverse fixed, mobile and satellite assets in order to meet consumer demand.
AT&T today in a separate announcement noted plans for 5G trials with Ericsson and Qualcomm set to begin later this year. The carrier also highlighted its first 5G business customer trial at an Intel facility in Austin, where it claims to have recorded network speeds in excess of 1 Gbps during the first phase of the trial.
The operator also said its move last year in trialing a fixed wireless point-to-point service using millimeter wave spectrum targeting multidwelling units in Minneapolis could expand to new markets, and reiterated plans to begin field trials this year of its Project AirGig technology that uses power lines to deliver broadband services.
Fiber expansion
Somewhat connected to its 5G plans, AT&T said its fiber-based broadband service now offered up to 1 Gbps connectivity to nearly 4 million homes across 46 metropolitan areas, including 650,000 apartment and condominium units. The operator plans to reach at least 12.5 million locations across 67 metro locations by mid-2019, which is also a requirement stipulated by the federal government connected with its $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV.
T-Mobile US and Sprint last week threw out their own network update plans, both with a strong focus on the use of new technologies in support of current LTE deployments and in laying the groundwork for 5G deployments.
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