AT&T to debut LTE Modem Dongles on August 21 - A Foretaste of Katy Perry's Candyland

Let observation with extensive view,

Survey mankind from China to Peru;

Remark each anxious toil, each eager strife,

And watch the busy scenes of crowded life.

Johnson, Vanity of Human Wishes

The coming of the 3G Data revolution in the US of A in 2008, around the same time Telecom Provider CLARO introduced mobile 3G Data services to Jamaica, has mean a lot of rapid adjusting by the Telecom Providers in those countries. In short they had to not only upgrade their Networks as more people got hip to the idea of having the Internet everywhere as stated in my blog article entitled  “The 4G Revolution and the Summer of 2010”.

These Upgrades by Telecom Provider AT&T and Telecom Provider Verizon began in the Summer of 2010AD. Now word comes that they are nearly finished, with Telecom Provider Verizon having coverage of almost 50% of the US of A as stated in the article “Verizon’s got half the country covered with LTE”, published August 18, 2011, 6:06am PT By Ryan Kim, GigaOM.

Telecom Provider AT&T, too, is ready, with pricing plans in the offing for its 4G LTE Modem Dongles, USBConnect Momentum 4G and AT&T Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G as stated in the article “AT&T outs pricing for LTE and first devices”, published August 16, 2011, 8:41am PT By Kevin C. Tofel, GigaOM and the article “AT&T's First LTE Devices Hit Shelves August 21”, published August 16, 2011 10:40 AM By Mark Sullivan, PCWorld.

Previously announced to make their debut in the Summer of 2011AD as stated in the article “AT&T’s first LTE devices poised for summer debut”, published July 12, 2011, 7:44am PT By Kevin C. Tofel, GigaOM, these LTE Modem Dongles, USBConnect Momentum 4G and AT&T Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G are slated to hit the shelves on Sunday August 21^st 2011AD, both available on a two (2) year Data contract for the prices listed below. 

The pricing give an interesting snapshot of what is to come when the Caribbean transitions towards LTE:

So how this development, a long time coming in the US of A as chronicled in my blog article entitled “KDDI's Broadband WiMax and Wi-Fi Municipal Network - Ruckus's Japanese Flight of the Navigator” is of relevance to Jamaica?

Because Jamaica and the Caribbean are slated to go  HSDPA+ Release 7 (High Speed Downlink Packet Access Plus) by December of 2012AD, just in time for the Winter Tourist Season courtesy of BOTH Telecom Provider LIME and Telecom Provider Digicel as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME and American Tourist Data Avalanche - The US$80 Million Dollar CannonBall Run” and the article “Of ATC Strikes and Digicel 3G+ Upgrades - Pushing Tin in Eerie, Indiana”.

Of interest, aside from the pricing and the fact that superfast 6MBps LTE will also be capped, is the fact that these Modem Dongles are backward compatible with HSDPA+ Release 7 Network in partnership with Telecom Equipment Supplier Ericsson soon to be launched in the next eighteen (18) months in the Caribbean counting down from July 2011AD. Thus, Winter Tourists travelling to the Caribbean from the EU and the USA can rest assured that by December 2012AD, their LTE Modem Dongles will be able to work in the Caribbean.

Since these Modem Dongles use the SIM Card as a means of authenticating themselves n the host Networks that they seek to gain access e.g. Telecom Provider AT&T in the US of A or Telecom Provider LIME when in the Caribbean, these Quad-Band LTE Modem Dongles open up a whole new secondary market for modems to be resold in the Caribbean once the Americans get hip to the idea of island hopping with a LTE modem in Katy Perry’s Candyland of Wireless Broadband!