SAN FRANCISCO - AT&T on Wednesday announced three new laptop modems, including its first LTE and HSPA+ high-speed devices.
The USBConnect Adrenaline, made by LG (pictured below on left) will be AT&T's first LTE device. According to AT&T, the modem will get a software upgrade in 2011 when AT&T debuts the LTE network. For now, it will run on AT&T's HSPA 7.2 network, and in the future it will fall back to 7.2 where LTE isn't available. The modem has an LED status indicator, GPS, and a MicroSD memory card slot. The Adrenaline will cost $49.99 with a two-year service plan.
AT&T is targeting businesses that want to be able to plan for new network technologies without having to upgrade their hardware.
"We have purposefully planned our path to LTE to create a wireless network where the transition from 3G does not give customers wireless whiplash," AT&T vice president Michael Woodward said in a press release.
The USBConnect Shockwave from Sierra Wireless (pictured center), will be free with a two-year contract. That modem is designed to run on AT&T's HSPA+ 14.4 network, which is debuting at the end of this year. That technology could double AT&T's 3G speeds. Interestingly, where there's no LTE, the Shockwave will be faster than the Adrenaline.
AT&T also announced the USBConnect 900, made by Huawei. This HSPA 7.2 modem will cost $79.99, but require no contract and work with AT&T's prepaid plans: $15 for 100MB in one day, $30 for 300MB in one week, or $50 for 1GB in one month.
Although it has the fastest nationwide 3G network, AT&T is playing catch-up against its competitors as other carriers introduce new technologies. Verizon Wireless will turn on LTE this year (and MetroPCS already has), and T-Mobile's HSPA+ 21 network - faster than AT&T's proposed 14.4 network - already covers more than 65 million people in the U.S. Verizon has not yet officially introduced any LTE-compatible modems.
All three new modems work on HSPA networks worldwide, allowing global roaming, AT&T said. The USBConnect Adrenaline and 900 will be available on October 17, AT&T said. The USBConnect Shockwave is coming before the holidays.