By cannibalizing its 2G and 3G networks, AT&T hopes to boost LTE capacity in order to better compete with other mobile service providers. AT&T has been laying the groundwork for its this move since early 2012.
Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile are all turbo-charging their 4G networks, but AT&T won’t be left out of the party. It’s begun building a new LTE network in the PCS band, the swath of digital communications spectrum where carriers have traditionally run their 2G voice and 3G data services.