AT&T has admitted that it clipped the wings of its 4G network and is the reason that two recently released phones, the Motorola Atrix 4G and the HTC Inspire 4G, have dismal upload speeds. Carrier reps on Facebook have promised that AT&T will fix the problem with a software update to the phones in April after many complaints were made to the Better Business Bureau.

AT&T's HSUPA network has been up and running for some time now, but when 4G phones began entering the market recently, customers were surprised to find their upload speeds were no faster than 300kbps, as we found in our Atrix review. AT&T initially dodged the issue, saying that the HTC Inspire 4G wasn't able to use 4G. AT&T now says it is still conducting the "testing and preparations" that come ahead of actually on its 4G service.

A software patch will be released in April to both the Atrix and the Inspire to fix their upload speeds and give them access to the (hopefully active) HSUPA network. AT&T also notes that an upcoming phone, the Samsung Infuse 4G, will ship with HSUPA enabled. If you're looking to pick up any of the hobbled phones, be prepared to work with slower upload speeds for at least a few weeks, if not longer.