AT&T announced on Wednesday their plans for a major expansion of their 3G Wireless network to more than 80 additional cities in the U.S. throughout the course of 2008. The planned expansion will deliver 3G service to nearly 350 major markets by the end of 2008.

The initiative means AT&T will roll out an additional 1,500 cell sites in the U.S. this year.

"Other plans for the new year include completion of the nation’s first High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA)-enabled network by the middle of the year. The AT&T 3G network now delivers typical downlink speeds ranging between 600 and 1,400 Kilobits per second (Kbps), as well as faster uplink speeds, ranging from 500 and 800 Kilobits per second (Kbps). The faster uplink speeds allow AT&T’s HSUPA-enabled laptop users to more quickly send large files and take full advantage of the latest interactive Internet and business applications," AT&T said.

AT&T said that the HSUPA upgrade is the next step in the evolution of their network and will make them the only provider fully transitioned to the HSPA standards. The announcement also said AT&T is laying the groundwork of a 4G network for the future.

"From the beginning, our wireless network has been designed with the future in mind," said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO for AT&T’s wireless unit. "The capabilities of 3G standards will continue to expand over the next several years, enabling us to stay well ahead of our customers’ broadband needs. And looking even further into the future, our existing technologies provide the ideal platform for a smooth transition to next-generation platforms."