AT&T Pushes LTE Aggressively With Lumia

NEW YORK (Trefis) -- AT&T(T) will launch the first LTE-enabled Windows Phone, the Nokia(NOK) Lumia 900, for $99.99 on April 8. At this price point, not only is the high-end smartphone half as expensive as the latest iPhone 4S but it is also slightly less expensive than the two-year old iPhone 4.

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Over the weekend, the carrier even ran a promotional rebate scheme of $100 to pre-order the Lumia, effectively making it available for free with a two-year contract. AT&T has even claimed the LTE-enabled Lumia will be its biggest product launch ever, surpassing even the iPhone. With Verizon(VZ) getting aggressive with its LTE plans, it does seem that the second largest carrier in the U.S. does not want to be left behind.

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Verizon has already made its aggressive LTE intentions clear by announcing it plans to introduce only those phones this year that support its high-speed network. Moreover, it has also increased its year-end LTE coverage target to 260 million Americans from the 250 million target earlier. Currently, it is well ahead of AT&T, whose LTE network covers roughly 75 million Americans compared to Verizon's 200 million. AT&T plans to double that coverage to 150 million by the year end, but even then it will fall well short of Verizon's projected coverage target.

In order to catch up, AT&T has been investing heavily in its LTE infrastructure, rapidly rolling out in new markets to make up for its relatively late entry into the space. Over the past two years, AT&T has invested heavily in its HSPA+ and LTE networks, and we don't see that reducing anytime soon.