AT&T Wireless Set To Roll Out Fast Service: Report

AT&T Wireless is set to start rolling out fast 3G wireless access in four cities next week, according to some press reports.

The company has previously said it would roll out the service, which will provide speeds of about 300 Kbps, in four cities by the end of the year. That rollout is required by an agreement with NTT DoCoMo, which owns a 16 percent stake in the company. The company has not committed to rolling out the service in more cities.

According to Reuters, the four cities that will get the faster service are Detroit, San Francisco, Seattle and Phoenix. Cingular Wireless, which is acquiring AT&T Wireless, has said it will try rolling out fast service sometime next year, although it also has said that may not occur until 2006.

In either case, the combined company will be well behind its competitors, particularly Verizon Wireless, which has started broadly rolling out its next-generation 1xEV-DO wireless network this summer and expects to be largely finished by next summer. In addition, Sprint PCS has said it will roll out a 1xEV-DO network, although its timetable is slightly behind Verizon's.

The company had no comment about the Reuters report.