High-speed, Long Term Evolution wireless 
data is about to move to a second major U.S. carrier, with AT&T signaling that its network will soon be up and running for computer users. The nation's second-biggest wireless provider, which could soon leap to number one if its acquisition of T-Mobile is approved by federal regulators, announced Tuesday its rates for data-only (non-smartphone ) broadband.
Using computers on the new network will cost $50 a month for five gigabytes of data and $10 per additional gigabyte.
Two Modems for LTE
LTE service will be available on a USBConnect Adrenaline modem, released in March and upgradable to LTE beginning Aug 26. It currently runs on the HSPA+ network, which AT&T also calls 4G . The cost of using the AT&T USBConnect Momentum 4G and the new AT&T Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G will be the same as for current users of Momentum and Elevate.
The Elevate will set buyers back $119.99, while the Momentum costs $99.99, each with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate.
AT&T said the USBConnect Momentum 4G and Mobile Hotspot Elevate 4G will be the only LTE devices in the U.S. to have a 4G/HSPA+ network that will be able to utilize slower, but still fast, HSPA+ if the user moves outside LTE coverage.
A software update downloadable from AT&T's web site on Aug. 26 will enable the LTE chipset.
Coming Soon
AT&T hasn't announced the date it will activate the 4G LTE coverage, but it will initially be in five markets: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Like Verizon Wireless, which began rolling out LTE in December, AT&T's network will support computers and tablets first and smartphones later.
The goal is to offer 4G LTE to customers in at least 15 markets, covering 70 million Americans, by the end of this year.
In December, when Verizon launched its LTE, AT&T Chief Technology Officer John Donovan suggested in a blog post that the rival carrier wasn't investing enough in its network to prevent speed degradation when users leave the initial LTE area.
"Our HSPA+ network and upgraded backhaul is expected to deliver speed performance similar to initial LTE deployments," Donovan wrote then. "That matters, because when we begin commercial deployment of LTE in mid-2011, customers on our LTE network will be able to fall back to HSPA+."
In other news, Engadget on Tuesday posted a photo of what it said was LTE equipment supporting the 700-megahertz and AWS bands at an unnamed Apple store -- equipment that could possibly be used for an LTE-enabled iPhone 5, the site said.
Not likely, said Ken Dulaney, an analyst at Gartner Research.
"The general consensus was that the [iPhone 5] would not have LTE because of the power drain and Apple's incessant concern about battery life," Dulaney said. "What could be happening is that they may have this for laptops which may now support LTE."
The photo was quickly removed for unknown reasons.
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