All the public will know is that Apple intends to release a newer device. So what.
The announcement has been made at AT&T, and you are wrong to assume that Apple is working on its own without communicating with ATT internally.
Perhaps Feb may turn out to not be the right timing, but you will see a 3g early next year.
Hell, a few months ago you would have sworn that apple would not immediately have dropped their price.....but they did.