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Mar. 17, 2010

Google says that its new Nexus One smartphone is now available in a version that will run on AT&T's 3G network.

The new phone can be bought as an unlocked device without a service plan, at least for now, according to Google.

In addition to AT&T's 3G network, the device will also run on Rogers Wireless in Canada.

Like the first version of the Nexus One, it can be used with most GSM operators globally as well.

For now, AT&T isn't planning to subsidize the Nexus One in exchange for an agreement to a two-year contract from its mobile customers.

Nexus One devices can now be shipped to Canada from Google's Web store and will work with a SIM from Rogers Wireless.

When the Nexus One first rolled out, it was compatible only with T-Mobile's 3G network in the U.S., but featured only limited 2G or EDGE compatibility with AT&T.

That was mainly due to the fact that T-Mobile and AT&T run on different radio frequencies.

The AT&T version of the Nexus One supports three 3G/UMTS bands (850/1900/2100 MHz) and four GSM radio frequencies (850/900/1800/1900 MHz).

The T-Mobile version supports three 3G/UMTS bands (900/AWS/2100 MHz) and four GSM radio frequencies (850/900/1800/1900 MHz).

The unlocked version of the smartphone retails on Google's online outlet for $529.

The subsidized version of the phone through T-Mobile costs $179, with a two-year contract.

Last month, in PC World’s latest tests conducted in late December and early January, AT&T’s average download speed increased to 1,410 kbps, or 1.4 mbps.

This represents an almost 67 percent increase from AT&T's average download speeds of 818 kbps in tests conducted by PC World in April 2009.

On a number of occasions in the past, AT&T's Ralph de la Vega said that AT&T's network performance was suffering in a few major cities like New York and San Francisco. The wireless giant went so far as to launch an app called "Mark the Spot" that allows customers to report problems with AT&T's network in real time.

And according to Jenny Bridges, a spokeswoman for AT&T, the mobile service carrier made some significant improvements last year to help boost its network speed. Bridges said AT&T added about 1,900 new cell sites, more than 100,000 new circuits for backhaul and the company also doubled the number of fiber-served cell sites.

The PC World 3G Wireless Performances Tests are done in partnership with Novarum. They test download speeds, upload speeds and network reliability of the AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon 3G networks from no less than twenty different locations in each of the United States' thirteen largest cities.

PC World says it ran more than 51,030 separate tests covering 857 square miles of wireless cell coverage servicing 7.1 million wireless subscribers.

"For this year, we plan to spend between $18 billion and $19 billion in total capital expenditures, a 5 to 10 percent increase over last year," Bridges added.

And these investments apparently are working. In Baltimore, New York City, New Orleans, Portland and Seattle, AT&T’s average download speeds actually rose about 58 percent. The network’s 13-city average download speed was 1.4 mbps. So far, none of the other major wireless networks registered average download speeds of better than 1 mbps on average.

However, perhaps the most high-profile improvements were the addition of 850 MHz spectrum in a number of markets, as well as the deployment of HSPA 7.2 software at all of AT&T's 3G cell towers nationwide.

To compare these results with Verizon Wireless is inevitable, in light of its never-ending 3G “map wars” with AT&T. Verizon’s 13-city average download speed came in at 877 kbps, down 8 percent from its average of 951 kbps in PC World's test conducted in April 2009.

Verizon’s average download speed actually decreased in seven of twelve testing cities in the U.S. compared to the numbersactually recorded last spring.

In five of those cities – Chicago, New Orleans, Phoenix, San Jose and Seattle – Verizon’s average network speeds dropped by 16 percent or even more in some cases.

These recent test results suggest that Verizon may not be keeping up with demand in some markets. Additionally, Verizon Wireless has only recently gotten heavily into the smartphone game with new Android offerings like the Droid.

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Source: Google.