Sure At&t’s network supports 3g data access for our Nokia N95-3 NAM edition, but the front-facing camera is pretty useless for anything other than snapping a few shots of ourselves while driving.  Honestly, it would be a nice if someday we were able to take advantage of the video call camera which more often than not is removed from our carrier subsidized cell phones.  While much of Europe and Asia have enjoyed 3g video calls for quite some time, the day for At&t is rapidly approaching thanks to the speedy roll out of their HSPA network.  The HSPA network consists of HSDPA and HSUPA and while we have been enjoying our fair share of HSDPA, the nationwide roll out of HSUPA is still six markets away from completion.  The good news here is that At&t has assured us that we will have our completed HSUPA nationwide network before the end of 2009 which means At&t will be the only US carrier with a complete HSPA network.  Yes we understand that this is not an amazing accomplishment when the next largest GSM carrier happens to be T-mobile who has not even completed a nationwide launch of their 3g network, but let’s give At&t some credit for achieving a HSPA network much sooner than expected.

So what exactly does this HSPA network mean for the At&t’s future?  Well essentially it means 3g video calls will now be possible on our unlocked devices with front-facing cameras and we will no longer need to use the mediocre excuse for video calling found on popular At&t phones such as the Blackjack II.  When you go out and spend $600+ USD on that shiny new HTC Diamond and you want to complete that video call, you will be able to without hesitation.  The ability to accomplish these 3g video calls comes from the HSUPA (uplink), capable of delivering 800kbps of upload speed (100KB/s for desktop comparison) which is nearly 1 megabit per second and tops many home DSL connections these days.  With 3g video calls on the horizon and HTC and Nokia’s next generation of handsets on their way with native support for At&t’s 3g network, the future is bright my friends, very bright.