AT&T Takes MicroCells to Vegas

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) confirmed Monday that it has added Las Vegas to its trial markets for 3G femtocell products.

Light Reading Mobile heard from a source at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona two weeks ago that Vegas would be the next big market to run live 3G "MicroCell" customer trials. The operator, however, says that other cities that were widely reported as new markets last Friday have, in fact, been live for a while.

"We recently added Las Vegas, but the other locations -- Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and San Diego -- have been part of the trial for awhile now," said a spokeswoman for the operator in an email reply to questions. (See MWC Rumor: AT&T Eyes Q2 Femto Launch, Enterprise Suppliers.)

LR Mobile broke the news of the initial AT&T trials back in September 2009. North Carolina and Georgia were being cited as trial markets even then.(See Look for AT&T's Femto 'Soft Launch' Soon.)

The carrier isn't saying, however, when these long-running but piecemeal customer tests will be translated into a nationwide launch. "We don't have anything further to share at this time," the spokeswoman says.

For what it's worth, our source is expecting further test markets in San Francisco and Los Angeles to go live this month, followed by a nationwide launch in the second quarter.

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile