AT&T found a defect in their Alcatel-Lucent equipment about a month ago that, under certain conditions, throttles upload speeds to 100kbps. This of course is not a good thing, so they’ve been working on the problem and identified a software defect that was causing the problem. Good news is, the patch has been released and is currently being pushed out to everyone using the effected equipment. AT&T has released an official statement:
AT&T and Alcatel-Lucent jointly identified a software defect — triggered under certain conditions – that impacted uplink performance for Laptop Connect and smartphone customers using 3G HSUPA-capable wireless devices in markets with Alcatel-Lucent equipment. This impacts less than two percent of our wireless customer base. While Alcatel-Lucent develops the appropriate software fix, we are providing normal 3G uplink speeds and consistent performance for affected customers with HSUPA-capable devices.
The initial reporting website has received multiple speed reports, and it appears that the patch has solved the problem.