AT&T waited no time to confirm that they will be the first US carrier to carry the next-generation BlackBerry Bold. It’s been customary in the past years that a vast majority of hot new phones tends to steer towards AT&T as they roll off the assembly line, so it wasn’t too big of a surprise here. Just like the iPhone, if you want to get the Bold and more importantly use AT&T’s 3G network, you must switch over from your current carrier.

“AT&T will be the only U.S. carrier to offer the [Bold] when we begin selling it later this year. I also want to make sure you know that AT&T will be the only U.S. carrier to offer a BlackBerry that has international 3G capabilities and the only U.S. carrier to give its customers the ability to use their BlackBerry in such countries as Japan and South Korea,” AT&T rep John Kampfe said in and email.

What this really means is that AT&T will be the first US carrier to offer the BlackBerry Bold, but according to a conversation between Gearlog and RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis, the Bold will be coming to all major US carriers after AT&T, and not long after that.

The last piece regarding “international 3G capabilities” comment is really a jab at other carriers’ BlackBerry smartphones, especially Sprint and Verizon BlackBerry 8830 World Edition, which is 3G capable here stateside, but drops to 2G across the pound when you take it to Europe; that’s one for AT&T, and zero for the other carriers.

[Thanks for the email John!]