T-Mobile still a few years away from LTE transition

By on Jan 20, 2011 at 10:45 PM
General January 20, 2011

T-Mobile is sticking with HSPA+ for the long haul, Bloomberg reports — or at least for another few years. While major competitors build out LTE and WiMAX 4G networks, T-Mobile will continue to focus on its HSPA+ 4G network. T-Mobile has already stated that it intends to double the theoretical limit on the download side of its HSPA+ network from 21Mbps to 42Mbps in 2011. That speed increase and possible subsequent improvements to the carrier’s HSPA+ gear will have to suffice for “a few years” according to T-Mobile executives. But no matter, T-Moblers — everything is 4G now! LTE Advanced, LTE, WiMAX, 14.4Mbps HSPA+ , 21 Mbps HSPA+, 42Mbps HSPA+, GPRS… It’s all good! In all seriousness though, T-Mobile’s data network does not yet have to deal with the congestion seen on other networks, so high-speed HSPA+ is more than sufficient for the carrier at the moment. Other more congested networks have a more urgent need to deploy LTE and WiMAX, which can accommodate a greater number of simultaneous data connections with less of an impact on performance.

Read

Tags:
, , , , , , , ,
62 Comments

Related Articles

  • Jason

    While I’m on verizon and looking forward to LTE, who cares if HSPA+ is not “really” 4G? 42Mbps is pretty dang fast for a phone.

    • GinaDee

      Agreed. But try convincing the dozens of Verizon/ATT employees who frequent this blog site with their bought loyalty.

      • Anonymous

        Stop defending T-Mobile as if your an employee. Fact of the matter, RIGHT NOW T-Mobile can’t hold a candle to Verizon or even AT&T as far as coverage. T-Mobiles plans two years from now mean nothing for me at this point in time. Their coverage is terrible in my region, happy it works for you. Now move along.

      • Anonymous

        What kind of candle are we talking here?

        Given your spelling of you’re as your, school probably wasn’t your strong suit, and if that’s the case, T-Mobile plan prices might be right for you!

      • Anonymous

        Funny how you want someone like me to “move along,” from something that works.

        Maybe you should stop bitching over a product that you claim “doesn’t work,” and get over yourself already?

        If something didn’t work in 2006 I don’t keep bitching about it for years on behalf of my employer Verizon or my lord AT&T.

      • Anonymous

        You do realize that 42 is THEORETICAL, right? Their THEORETICAL 21 now only gets 3-5. Verizon’s Lte got 12-30 on a loaded network in Vegas!

      • Anonymous

        Loaded 4G network? Tim Verizon has never had a loaded 4G network yet. What are you smoking?

      • Anonymous

        Yes Gina, they have. In Vegas, during CES, it was very loaded. There were
        tons of people in a small area using the same tower. It was still pulling
        12-30 Mbps. The speed was more dependant on which floor you were on, than
        the loaded network. Those pipes pay off! Verizon was voted fastest, most
        reliable 4G in Vegas during CES. Go figure!

    • Anonymous

      esp with fiber backhaul, something AT&T until recently, or still, doesn’t believe in.

      • Anonymous

        AT&T uses the highest caliber fiber there is. OC-768. Most of Verizons network is OC-48

        OC-768 / STM-256

        OC-768 is a network line with transmission speeds of up to 39,813.12 Mbit/s (payload: 38,486.016 Mbit/s (38.486016 Gbit/s); overhead: 1,327.104 Mbit/s (1.327104 Gbit/s)).

        On October 23, 2008, AT&T announced the completion of upgrades to OC-768 on 80,000 fiber-optic wavelength miles of their IP/MPLS backbone network.[3] OC-768 SONET interfaces have been available with short-reach optical interfaces from Cisco since 2006. Infinera made a field trial demonstration data transmission on a live production network involving the service transmission of a 40 Gbit/s OC-768/STM-256 service over a 1,969 km terrestrial network spanning Europe and the U.S. In November 2008, an OC-768 connection was successfully brought up on the TAT-14/SeaGirt transatlantic cable,[4] the longest hop being 7,500km.

      • Anonymous

        That is a backbone, not a tower backhaul. Describe how it’s reaching the towers.

        There’s little evidence of it reaching their DSL/Uverse customers as is, unlike Verizon’s FiOS.

    • Anonymous

      You do realize that 42 is THEORETICAL, right? Their THEORETICAL 21 now only gets 3-5. Verizon’s Lte got 12-30 on a loaded network in Vegas!

      • Miro

        Er no my vibrant isn’t even hspa+ and I’m seeing 3_5mbps in south florida at the moment

  • Anonymous

    T-Mobile is ghetto. Period.

    • ItsMeBeaches

      And ur an idiot. Period.

    • GinaDee

      Is that all you got mall kiosk salesrep?

      T-Mobile will match Verizon’s 3G network size with 4G by 2013. Where have you been all day?

      • Anonymous

        Sorry my friend but T-mobile has not matched vzw voice coverage so I doubt the will match with 3g.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TMJPXWZ43W5BFC4MHGWBBFWUCQ Dan B

        Yes, has not NOW. GinaDee said WILL match. T-Mobile showed today what they expect their 3g/4g network to be like by 2013. That is what GinaDee is referring to. You will see t-mobile building out their network finally. Granted, it may be 3g/4g on aws and not with gsm. (They have licenses that cover just about the entire country for aws, 2g not as much.)

      • Anonymous

        Meantime, T-Mobile’s 2G, 3G and 4G all eclipse Verizon’s 4G.

      • Anonymous

        T-Mo can pull out all the nice, fancy slides that they want to. I’ll believe it when I see it. And adding all of that coverage for “only” $400M?!?! Not bloody likely…

      • Anonymous

        Are you serious? Tmobile’s entire network could fit in Texas. Verizon’s 3G reaches 99% of all Americans. Tmobile will never reach that with 1G, much less 4!

      • Anonymous

        Actually, I’m a lawyer, but I digress. I’m going to go ahead and assume you’re a T-Mobile customer. If so, you should take all the money you save by not paying your bills and buy a sense of humor. You should also stop allowing yourself to be offended simply because someone (namely, me) points out that your carrier is the preferred choice for gang members, thugs, and drug dealers.

      • Anonymous

        I can gurantee you’re a shitty lawyer. Your logic is ignorant with major fallacies. You only have limited anecdotal evidence and are using that to infer the customer base of a natiowide carrier.. That is just hilarious, go back to law school u musta slept thru it last time…

    • Miro

      200 million hspa+ pops is hardly ghetto.besides, verizon’s other owner vodafone is going with hspa+ as well. The wireless industry as a whole expects hspa+ to be a major player for a while, read some of the industry blogs and pubs

  • Anonymous

    When you watch a drag race, the car fastest to the finish generally wins. What if one of the cars has an exciting new engine technology?!?! The rules of the game won’t change. The fastest car to the finish will be the winner.

    I don’t care what you call 4G technology. I’m looking for speed. If it happens to be called HSPA+, Fred Flintstone, Snailosaurus, I don’t really care. As long as it’s fast.

    T-Mobile is fast.

    • Anonymous

      Your are right in a sense, but sometimes the race track changes. It can turn and go uphill. T-mobile network is like a high horsepower car with no torque. When u go uphill (subscriber congestion) it will lose because it cant handle the extra pressure. LTE can handle more per pipeline. Its like racing a Lexus IS350 and a BMW 335 uphill. They both have 300hp but the BMW will win because it has more torque

      • Anonymous

        Doesn’t matter when you’re running 20 Lexus’s to the one BMW. 20 more people will get there vs the one BMW.

      • Anonymous

        Yes, but what if that BMW had 90M+ loaded seats, making that BMW much heavier, increasing the amount of pull gravity has on it, and thus slowing it down and causing it to lose the race? Verizon is driving a 90M+ seater car. (Note: is this going to be an uphill only race? Cause this analogy doesn’t work on well on downhill races)

        I think we can get more weight out of this lame analogy. I’m excited to hear your response.

      • Miro

        Except that in the online world of megabits there is no such thing as torque

  • The One

    Why does Tmobile even care to get LTE when they already claim to have 4G?

    • GinaDee

      There are advantages to utilizing LTE long term.

      Short term: 4G HSPA + is the fastest way they can provide top speeds to as many Americans as possible. HSPA + is an easy upgrade, allows for 42, 84 and up to 650 Mbps download speeds. But it does use more network resources than LTE.

      LTE will be the dominant mobile standard post 2014 and they want to be a part of it as required in their unified global strategy pointed out today

      • Anonymous

        There are advantages of not going LTE short-term. You get to wait for your competitors to blow through a lot of money fixing LTE’s problems: battery drain, voice+data, etc, and expensive early-adopter equipment — then you come from behind to catch up. It’s a lot cheaper and easier.

        Historical example, T-Mobile is more deployed with HSPA+ than AT&T even though AT&T had more money and more time to work on it.

      • Anonymous

        Actually, att has more hspa+, it is just mostly 14.4. Regardless, thetmy both suck and neither get even half that speed.

    • Miro

      The advantages to waiting are that when tmobile starts tp upgrade they won’t gave to spend as much as a deployment would require now. The kinks would be ironed out and going to LTE Advanced would be faster and cheaper. LTE would then enable them to have voice and data in, one. Globally speaking carriers are mostly doing hspa+ deployments

  • Anonymous

    Well….at least this time Tmobile is focusing on building out what they already have as opposed to moving to sumthin else just to fit in.

  • http://twitter.com/sulu600 Steve Park

    Wow, I am stuck with GPRS and now I find out it’s 4G too…..and I was going to upgrade this year to a 4G phone. )-;

  • David

    Wish I could root for the underdog.

    T-Mobile coverage stinks. Practically non-existent.
    3G HSPA+ is much slower than LTE. Speed isn’t the only measure. Need to look at latency. How quickly can it respond to a request. Especially important for VOIP but often gives a more important feel for responsiveness.

    T-Mobile needs to team up with Sprint if either is going to have a chance to compete.

    • Anonymous

      Are you from Alaska? I grew up in Alaska! T-Mobile coverage totally sucks up there. You must be cold.

      I get it everywhere else. Freakin’ blazing bro. Serious.

      • Anonymous

        I couldn’t read that bs with a str8 face

      • Anonymous

        Tim: Nobody cares that you live in one of those Alltel areas where Verizon’s hand has been forced to provide you with service other than analog. You keep spewing the same cynical message. We get it. T-Mobile doesn’t work at the incestual house where you and your sister got married.

        T-Mobile plans to grow their network? If you can’t read then have someone read this for you. Again, I repeat: T-Mobile plans to grown their network so people like you can find something else to complain about.

        Aren’t you mountain people too busy pretending our President is not American or bringing your guns to political rally’s?

      • Anonymous

        First of all, what tmobile plans to do is just that…plans. They’re out of
        money. That’s why they’re going to sell their towers. That’s the same thing
        Sprint did. Also, did you miss tmobile’s meeting with their parent conpany
        yesterday? Btw, Alltel had the same EVDO as Verizon. Oh, and before the
        merger, I had both Alltel and Verizon 3G : )

      • Anonymous

        Heyyy, I know you! You’re the comment Nazi! The guy that tries to regulate comments, and is normally a jerk about it. I’ve seen your posts before! I look forward to getting more trash from you in the future.

        You talk manly online, but offline you probably drive a jetta.

      • Anonymous

        Actually, I drive a GMC Canyon. Not that it has anything to do with
        anything.

    • Miro

      Depends where you are, verizon isn’t prefect everywhere. Where I’m at in south florida my call quality is better on tmobile than my inlaws have on att, in the same house. Also, no dropped calls

  • Lechero

    T-Mobile has NO 4G, in terms of LTE, stop acting like they do, theyre putting out the same network just now that att deployed and finished final overhaul of 1+ years ago. theyre behind of everything. even with their claimed 4G theyre still slower than verizons evdo. all they have is a spotty 4th generation company networks thats at least 2 years old in terms of current technologies.

  • Bmstuckey

    Do you even read the articles or do you just post? I’ve sat and done side by side test with friends verizon phones and I always come out on top. Verizons network is slow its very common knowlege actually. Verizon has great coverage that’s fine but they have never been known for speed.

    • Lechero

      you are correct sir. Verizon gives you network reliability, ATT gives you speed. Sprint gives you really shitty costumer service. and TMobile…..someone fill in here i got nothing, oh wait they do. ZING

    • Anonymous

      Really? Why does Verizon always come out on top in Speedtests by major publications? Verizon and Sprint are always at the top. I’d post links if I could.

  • http://twitter.com/ggore Glenn Gore

    T-Mobile has been beefing up their coverage in a big way. Basic coverage, not 3G or ’4G’, that is. They have very good overall coverage in my state, but 3G only in the two major cities, and their version of 4G in one. Here where I live the only have basic EDGE T-Mobile coverage, but that is better than what AT&T and Verizon offer, which is NO COVERAGE at all.

    • Anonymous

      No coverage at all with att or verizon in most of your state? Really? Where do you live? Bte, tno isn’t adding towers. They are roaming off of att in many areas.

      • http://twitter.com/ggore Glenn Gore

        I live in Oklahoma. Verizon has coverage only along Interstate 44, no 3G coverage at all in northwest or southeast Oklahoma. T-Mobile has much more coverage, but 3G only in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and their 4G only in Oklahoma City. AT&T has only one tiny little 10-mile radius 3G spot in northwest Oklahoma, whereas Sprint/Pioneer cover the entire region with their 3G-CDMA and CellularOne covers it with EDGE GSM. Verizon cannot roam on Sprint/Pioneer. AT&T cannot roam on CellularOne. There are 18 cell towers in my county, AT&T is one ONE and Verizon is on NONE.

      • Tim242

        I meant where in OK? I have good coverage on Sprint and Verizon there. It is
        so flat, the signal travels further.The only part of OK I’ve had bad signal
        in, is SE, in the Ouachita Mountains near the AR border.

      • Tim242

        Verizon has 3G im most of the state, with a huge area of 4G in Central O,
        stretching almost to TX.

      • http://twitter.com/ggore Glenn Gore

        Woodward, northwest Oklahoma, population 15,000. NO Verizon 3G, one AT&T tower with 3G service with a 10 mile radius of the city.
        Look at Verizon’s 3G coverage map and click the Data Coverage button, that gives you their 3G area Northwest and southeast Oklahoma are completely blank. “Voice & Messaging” is misleading, if you go to a Verizon store they will tell you that in most of the state their phones do not work. There are no plans to increase Verizon coverage in Oklahoma over the next 3 years according to a person at the main Oklahoma City store. .

      • http://twitter.com/ggore Glenn Gore

        Verizon’s 4G in Oklahoma goes from Stillwater to Norman and El Reno to almost Shawnee, only in central Oklahoma. Not even any 4G in Tulsa. The rest of the red on their 4G coverage map is their 3G area, where northweat and southeast OK are blank.

  • KCRic

    Whatever they do they need to hurry up! I’m only getting 9.5Mbps where I’m at. My highest was only 12.3Mbps. F**king piece of shit network. I bet verizon and at&t get at least those kinds of speeds during peak hours.

    Oh my god, I’m so sorry guys. I forgot hat while TMO is sitting happy at 21.1Mbps, AT&T is just now field testing their 14.4Mbps network. CDMA is always slower so who the fuck cares about you guys. Coverage? All over my city and being the HQ for Sprint and living 2 blocks from their corporate complex TMO still runs circles around them.

  • http://twitter.com/j_nathaniel Jason

    I don’t care if they use messenger pigeons as long as the data speeds I experience can keep up with what is needed.

  • Anonymous

    Looks like all the verizon/att employees have come out of the closet to defend their overpriced employers.

    They can’t stand that a challenger is coming up to meet them head to head.

  • justncase

    The author of this article saying “Other more congested networks have a more urgent need to deploy LTE and WiMAX” is dumb. Sprint and Verzon had to because their CDMA Networks were at their highest throughput speeds, not being supported anymore by vendors (to take it to the next level) and could go no further. In other words they were FORCED to build entirely new networks to keep up with GSM/UMTS technology. It had nothing to do with congestion. Watch out for T-Mobile, they will be # 3 nation carrier very soon, # 2 ATT is going to start their slide downwards with out inclusivity of the Iphone, coupled with loss revenue from roaming partners as they build out their networks further = ticked off shareholders of ATT Stock. 25% – 30% of ATT customer base is because of the Iphone. Everyone knows that. Jim Rome on the radio was slamming ATT’s network troubles and said the Ipohone is cool but the network it is on was terrible. LOL. He only has a customer following base of millions and millions of listeners. You could almost here ATT gasp for air. I’m sure they will have a commercial out rebutting his comments. Probably quote the BBB again.

  • drew dogg

    Someone needs to step in here and set a minimum speed that could be characterized as 4g. HSPA been out for a while now. You can’t just call it 4g over night. Tmobile that’s bullshit and you guys know it.

  • Miro

    I’m getting between 3 and 5mbps on my vibrant as it is so don’t really care what they call it as long as it’s reasonably fast

  • Anonymous

    T-Mobile is great at making deals, like exclusive phones and cheaper service. but that’s about it.

blog comments powered by Disqus