AT&T Brings 3G Network To Hernando County

The wireless company that claims to have the fastest network in the nation has expanded its service.

AT&T Wireless introduced its 3G technology to Tampa in 2006. It took two years, but it has made its way to all of Hernando County.

That means wireless phone users - including those with the new Apple iPhone - can upload and download faster, have video-sharing capabilities and have one-click access to music-related content, according to a company media release.

"We're constantly growing our 3G wireless network," said AT&T spokeswoman Kelly Starling. "Florida is a big state with lots of customers ... It's a very important market for us."

Sprint Nextel provided 3G technology to all of Florida in the spring of 2007. Verizon Wireless announced all of its towers in Florida had 3G capabilities by Aug. 1, but customers in Hernando County have had 3G for several months, said company spokesman Chuck Hamby.

The technology known as 3G is described as the mobile phone's "third generation." It has voice, video and broadband wireless capabilities.

The average AT&T's 3G network speeds range from 700 kilobits per second to 1.7 megabits per second for downloads and 500 Kbps to 1.2 Mbps per upload.

Sprint's average speed is 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps for downloads and 350 to 500 Kbps for uploads, said company spokeswoman Kristin Wallace.

Those speeds represent averages. If a person is using his or her phone close to a tower and without much traffic, the network speed could be considerably faster - like more than 3 Kbps for downloads, Wallace said.

Verizon's averages also are marginally slower than AT&T's.

"Speed is one thing, but reliability trumps speed," said Hamby. "We hang our hat on reliability. We don't run into the network problems the way (AT&T) did with the iPhone."

Apple and AT&T released the latest iPhone in July, before many towers were upgraded to 3G technology.

The company plans to make 350 metropolitan areas 3G compatible by the end of the year, said Starling.

The latest upgrades also have been done to all towers in Pasco County.