Even as some US carriers are just rolling out their 3G network, TELUS has announced that they will have their HSPA (”3.5G”) upgrades up and running with a “full national” launch in early 2010. This comes as part of a network sharing agreement with Bell, allowing them to get things up and running faster and cheaper than if they had to front it alone. It’s no cheap upgrade for either party, however - while they aren’t revealing the specifics, Telus does say that total capital requirements for 2009, including the HSPA upgrades, will sit right around $750 million.

In the announcement, they mention that this is part of the transition to LTE (4G), though no date for that roll-out is specified. We’ve heard plans for a 2010 LTE rollout from Verizon and AT&T, though most aren’t expecting it until sometime in 2012. It’s okay - by 2010, I’ll be so busy playing jetpack tennis with my robot butler that I won’t have time to think about next generation wireless systems.

(Note: Misread the press release originally - the 2010 launch is for HSPA, not LTE. Post fixed.)