AT&T to launch LTE with data cards and the like this summer

AT&T's planned LTE rollout is on track to begin later this summer, CFO Pete Ritcher told attendees at the Oppenheimer Technology & Communications Conference this week. And similar to competitor Verizon, AT&T's plan is to go live with data cards or likely dongles, with "at least a smartphone by the end of the year," said Ritcher.

In an informal "fireside chat," the AT&T executive additionally talked up backhaul improvements being made, and how its focus on HSPA+, despite Verizon turning on its LTE network last December, will ultimately benefit customers, who, when out of an LTE network range, will default to HSPA+ instead of 3G.

"We're the only carrier that's going to be rolling out LTE with HSPA+," said Ritcher, adding that the combination of AT&T's enhanced backhaul and HSPA+ network is already resulting in speeds of "about 6 megs per second," whereas its 3G network was "much lower than that."

Just as these increased speeds have resulted in increased data use by subscribers, AT&T anticipates that, "as we roll out LTE later this summer, and we start having devices there that can have even higher speeds ... we'll continue to see that gradual increase in usage," said Ritcher.

This should result in increased revenue for the company, now it offers its data pricing in tiers. Plus, as more customers choose LTE devices transition to its LTE network, those still utilizing the slower 3G should benefit. "It will free up some of the congestion ... on our 3G networks," Richter agreed.

Does AT&T feel rushed to catch up to Verizon? Richter suggested that AT&T was happy on the slower road, where it could wait for handsets to mature a little more and work out any early bugs in the system. He described AT&T's slow rollout of LTE, which will arrive in five markets this summer and a total of 15 by year's end, a "more elegant transition into LTE" than the jump Verizon made, adding, "We feel very confident that as we do roll it out, it's going to be a very stable network."

As for how quickly its LTE markets will increase in 2012, Richter said that partly depends on whether its intended purchase of T-Mobile is approved — as it expects it to be in early 2012.

"We still remain very confident that the deal is going to be approved," Richter said, as the conversation wound down. "We really haven't seen anything so far in the process that's been a surprise to us."