US 3G deployment..
"Apart from a couple of major cities hsupa is not available let alone first gen 3G"
Yeah, the majority of 3G rollouts in the the US are using EVDO. AT&T's several years behind in rollouts, and is the only large provider using WCDMA-based tech in the US. (T-Mobile is planning on it too, but last I heard, they had the 384kbps UMTS installed in one city.)
In the future though, Verizon Wireless and AT&T are planning to go LTE. VZW is in the process of buying Alltel (so their footprint will also get LTE, whether Alltel was planning to or not.) Sprint says they are planning WiMax, but really, they're going to HAVE to put some LTE in I think, unless they are planning to become some kind of wireless ISP instead of a phone provider.
" Also having 3G is slightly pointless without enriched content services. The avergae american usage of 3G is limited to browsing and video calls, "
Yeah, not even the video calls so much I think. Basically browsing. I think the US telcos have looked at 3G more to reduce congestion on the existing EDGE and 1X data channels (since WCDMA and EVDO are more efficient) -- the higher speeds are just a happy side-effect they can use to sell *some* data services.
"Make no mistake, the US telcos will eventually realise that their businedd model is restrictive and will eventually follow the european model."
I hope so! My phone service is good, but the phone's locked up tight! I'm hoping with LTE that the cell cos will HAVE to lighten up.