Report: 4G network, designed partly for use with the iPhone, will cost carriers over $1.75B in the first year

AT&T and Verizon plan on rolling out 4G networks, in part because of the data demand of the iPhone, in 2010-2011. Reports have estimated the cost at $1.78 Billion dollars (in the US) in the first year alone, making it one of the most expensive upgrades in telelcommunications history.

4G

Costs in Europe and the Middle East combine for over the $1B mark. This certainly isn’t chump change, and providers aren’t taking it lightly.

AT&T plans on releasing 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network around 2011 or so, and has their plans drawn up already to implement the system. Their plans have almost assuredly been hurried up by the demands on the iPhone, and its appetite for bandwidth.

We’ll see if 4G really does improve the iPhone experience for customers in congested urban areas. There will certainly be many people watching the progress on this issue.

Posted on Oct 4th, 2009 by Rob Goodchild in iPhones Talk | 2 Comments

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2 Comments to “Report: 4G network, designed partly for use with the iPhone, will cost carriers over $1.75B in the first year”

  1. on 05 Oct 2009 at 2:11 am1ezmac

    Wow, wonder where that puts us in Thailand? We don’t even have consistent 3G yet.

  2. on 07 Oct 2009 at 12:52 pm2webudvikling

    I certainly hope that upgrading the 3G network to 4G – not requires to purchase a new iphone for 4G support!!

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