AT&T's HSPA+ upgrade is coming as it's both easy to build and a likely necessary stopgap, the carrier's Operations president John Stankey said in an interview today. Since it's largely software, the upgrade will cost just $10 million to reach all 250 million potential subscribers. It also keeps AT&T in the running for speed, as Stankey told GigaOM he doesn't expect 4G phones to reach the mainstream until 2014.
