By now you have undoubtedly heard of Apple’s newest breakthrough product: the iPad.

Rumors were circulating that AT&T would not be the exclusive provider for the device, but those rumors turned out to be completely false.

AT&T, in fact, WILL be the exclusive 3G provider for the new iPad, as it now is with the extremely popular iPhone.

Could the addition of handling iPad traffic
push the AT&T network to its limit?

Let’s face it, AT&T is not tops in customer satisfaction when it comes to handling heavy data bandwidth from its business (and even consumer) customers.

Did you know that AT&T now has twice as many smartphone users as its nearest competitor?   Since the iPhone was introduced, the company has experienced a 5000% increase in broadband data usage!

Is it any wonder that they want the iPad business too?

AT&T execs must have been anticipating consumer concern over issues of the increased bandwidth needs of the iPad.  The did, in fact, address this topic on their latest quarterly conference call.

John Stankey, president and CEO of AT&T Operations, said on the call: “We’re very pleased to say that one of the 7.2-enabled devices that will have connectivity on our network is Apple’s new iPad…”

Stankey added “we’re really excited about the device, and we work closely with Apple in planning for its connectivity on our network. AT&T is a natural fit for the iPad, given the combination of the ever-improving speed of our 3G network and our robust Wi-Fi capabilities. We have a thorough technical understanding, with a good read on the iPad’s usage requirements and characteristics, and all that is included in our network plans for 2010 in the plans I’m sharing with you this morning.”

So apparently the company IS ready for the onslaught of die hard Apple users firing up their iPads.  The plan is to spend $2 billion dollars in 2010 to keep the 3G network running like a fine Swiss watch.

Our advice is this:

If you are going to purchase the iPad, we suggest you go with the Wi-Fi only version.   AT&T will charge you $30 per month for a 3G plan, but you really don’t need it for use at home, school, or your local Panera Bread.  The last few years has spawned more widespread availability of free Wi-Fi.

Opting out of the $30 per month 3G plan will not only save you a few hundred bucks per year, it will also help save AT&T bandwidth for the rest of us. :)

Submitted by: TelCon Associates