T-Mobile details 3G plans

As expected, T-Mobile has provided full disclosure today on exactly what it plans to do with all that juicy spectrum picked up in this summer's FCC auctions. Having been left out of the 3G race put on by its fellow national carriers, it comes as no surprise that T-Mobile has officially committed to rolling out UMTS / HSDPA on the 1700 and 2100MHz bands at a cost of some $2.1 billion. Unfortunately, the specrum is a few megahertz off from the UMTS 2100 used elsewhere, meaning existing 3G handsets designed to operate in Europe will be relegated to doing their 2.5G thing when roaming stateside; that being said, beggars can't be choosers, and we're sure T-Mobile is ecstatic to simply have somewhere to drop some next-gen data. Perhaps understanding that the wireless customer base at large can be both fickle and impatient, the nation's fourth-largest carrier is wasting no time getting its 3G equipment set up -- the rollout begins, like, now (they claim half of NYC's hardware is already in place) and will continue through the next several years, with compatible handsets and peripherals hitting retail sometime in mid 2007. Seeing how we're writing this very article from a 3G connection ourselves, all we can say is that it can't come a moment too soon.

[Thanks, Hrag S.]

[Mike D @ Oct 6th 2006 11:23AM]

Ahh...finally. Maybe they now they can roll out some decent coverage in upstate NY as well. It's too bad T-Mobile isn't a real option for anyone in this area that needs to be reachable 99%+ of the time.

[Jason @ Oct 6th 2006 11:24AM]

Sweet. 'Bout time.

[michael @ Oct 6th 2006 11:30AM]

Incompatible with Euro-3G *and* Cingular-3G? Ugh: that will further fragment the NA handset market, which is ugly enough on the Cingular side.

[PEZ @ Oct 6th 2006 1:40PM]

It really wouldnt have mattered anyway, since Cing is a UMTS carrier, and Tmo is HSPDA, as we have read (?) I guess the old saying goes... wait, I dont think there is an old saying for 3G :-P

I cant wait for the 3G PCMCIA cards! (and CF, and SD, and...) see you in 2009 when my credit card expires :-D

[Jonathan @ Oct 6th 2006 11:47AM]

I just switched to T-Mobile from Cingular. Cingular's 3G network is terrible here in Columbus, OH. Despite my phone reporting a full signal, nobody could hear what I said..I mean, *total* silence.

So I switched to T-Mobile and got the Pearl. Hopefully T-Mobile's 3G network will actually WORK for me when I upgrade to a 3G phone.

[Hugh Jass @ Oct 6th 2006 11:54AM]

Jonathan, 3G has nothing to do with your voice calling.

Furthermore, if your phone reported a full signal, was able to receive calls, and you were able to hear the caller but all they heard was silence... you had a faulty phone.

[dave @ Oct 6th 2006 11:55AM]

re: jonathan

what does a carrier's 3G network have to do with call quality? it's only relevant for data transmissions... according to cingular, they don't even have 3G coverage in any of OH. it's pretty sad if you actually switched carriers based on a misunderstanding of technology

[Jeff R @ Oct 6th 2006 11:54AM]

trials in NYC for awhile now Samsung and Nokia handsets

[Jonathan @ Oct 6th 2006 11:58AM]

I didn't have a "faulty phone," dear.

Whenever I went into the FACTORY SETTINGS, and switched the phone to 2G only, so that it would ONLY use the EDGE network, guess what?? The phone works beautifully.

3G is voice AND data.. learn your facts.

[xbit @ Oct 6th 2006 12:20PM]

Jonathan is correct, UMTS carries both voice and data. Hence, they'll eventually be able to turn off the GSM towers completely allowing for cheaper and smaller phones.

This is different from Verizon and Sprint's EV-DO (EVolution Data Only) 3G technology, which requires the older cdma2000 network for voice calls.

[Jonathan @ Oct 6th 2006 12:02PM]

You don't live in Columbus, OH. So you wouldn't know. Columbus, OH is covered with 3G.

3G runs on different FREQUENCIES and TOWERS than 2G networks, so my problems with Cingular's 3G network is just that.

I travelled all over Columbus testing my phone on 3G, and my voice would cut out entirely for NO reason, despite having a full 3G signal.

So anyway, it was a network problem, not my phone.

[Jonathan @ Oct 6th 2006 12:07PM]

http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/Sept2006/3573.htm - The article is entitled "Columbus -- First City in Ohio to Get Cingular's 3G Network"

So eat it.

And I didn't switch carriers on a "misunderstanding of technology"

I switched because 3G was NOT working for voice calls. Having to switch between 2G and 3G on my phone requires about 15 key presses and a power cycle, and I won't tolerate that. And besides, I was within my 30 days to cancel (since I upgraded my phone) and I wanted the Pearl + myFaves anyway.

Don't come on this and attack me without doing your homework, and ESPECIALLY don't come on here and attack me based on your poor perception of what my motives were for switching carriers. Thank you.

[quahogian @ Oct 6th 2006 11:57AM]

so does anybody in NYC area do T-Mo 3G, or it's not for mortals just yet?

[Enzo @ Oct 6th 2006 12:12PM]

I work with Cingular. Ohio DOES have full UMTS coverage right NOW.
Eat that.

[Jonathan @ Oct 6th 2006 12:17PM]

Yup,

The towers are there, but after a Cingular employee told me to try testing it on UMTS again, I couldn't even get 3G and I was in the center of Columbus. I know 3G is brand new here, but they seriously need to work out the kinks.

[Martin @ Oct 6th 2006 12:34PM]

You know the real question is going to be if cell phone manufacturers are gonna start making phones with all 6 of the UMTS bands or if T-Mobile is gonna get left in the dark and have to have proprietary UMTS phones made for it.

[3GHyped @ Oct 6th 2006 12:37PM]

Jonathan,
Have you considered that it's the 3G chip on YOUR phone? Just because your phone works better on GSM than UMTS doesn't mean your phone doesn't have problems. See if a different UMTS phone works better in Columbus. And yes, everyone else are idiots for flaming Jonathan here. UMTS advantage is allowing data AND voice at the same time. I've benefited from that UMTS advantage in Europe for over a year.

[Jonathan @ Oct 6th 2006 12:44PM]

I did think about it. Would a bad 3G chip work intermittently though? Going from campus to my apartment, I would call my friend's phone and just see how long until my voice stopped working. It cut out about halfway to my apartment, with the signal strength staying the same.

The weirdest thing is incoming voice works beautifully. I can always hear the people talking to me over my phone 100% of the time regardless of signal strength, or location.

The Cingular rep said if I came in again, that we could do an equipment exchange, but I didn't want to go through even more trouble. Data seems faster on my 2G Pearl than it did on my 3G LG CU500 anyway. Voice quality is worse, though. :(

[The Jeremy @ Oct 6th 2006 12:39PM]

I'd have to say that Cingular is my least favorite mobile phone company, especially since their corporate overlords c-blocked Vodafone's attempt at buying the formerly AT&T Wireless company. Since switching over to T-Mobile, my reception has greatly improved over Cingular here in NorCal.

Word to the wise, switch away from Cingular. And if you want an iTunes compatible Motorola RAZR without dealing with Cingular's kraptastic 2 year contracts, CompUSA seems to be selling that phone unlocked for $250 in store.

[HughJass @ Oct 7th 2006 2:31PM]

As I originally stated, your phone is the problem, not the network. It's obvious.

[CodeSmoke @ Oct 6th 2006 1:11PM]

This is good news excpet for the fact none of the current devices will work. I've already bought 2 HTC TyTN's and I'm not about to wait till mid 2007 to buy 2 more. I've been a T-Mobile customer for 4 years now and haven't had any problems with them. I have been waiting for them to roll out HSDPA but now that I know my devices won't work it's time to call up Cingular and switch.

[RJ @ Oct 6th 2006 1:12PM]

Geeeeezzzz. I am glad T Mo has finally gotten the spectrum they need. I have been a T mo customer for about 4 years. I bought a 6630 last year, but now that it will not work in the US 3G market I will just keep it for those trips to jolly olde London. I will probably just buy something that is quad band GSM, with WiFi. i.e. Ben Q P51 or something similiar.

[michael @ Oct 6th 2006 3:08PM]

It really wouldnt have mattered anyway, since Cing is a UMTS carrier, and Tmo is HSPDA, as we have read (?)

HSDPA is nothing more than an overlay to UMTS, like EDGE is to GSM - and cingular is very much an HSDPA carrier.

[Rod Lim @ Oct 6th 2006 2:04PM]

What's this eat this and that nonsense?
Johnathan, show maturity and defend yourself with dignity.

[Lyddle Squirrelz @ Oct 6th 2006 2:19PM]

Could someone briefly explain to me what 3g is? I'm a bit out of the next-gen cell phone tech loop, and I'm a tmobile customer so I figure it's my responsibility to find out somehow. Help!

[haythem @ Oct 6th 2006 2:57PM]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3g > ur life

[haythem @ Oct 6th 2006 3:03PM]

i've been with t-mo for about 4 years now too, i'm pretty pissed that european 3g devices are gonna be incompatible...is there not a way they could have got around that?

[Droo @ Oct 6th 2006 3:23PM]

>>i've been with t-mo for about 4 years now too, i'm pretty pissed that european 3g devices are gonna be incompatible...is there not a way they could have got around that?

There isn't a way around that. The reason is as simple as the fact we allocate frequencies for innovation and other services faster than the rest of the world. In order to line things up with the international 3G standard, we'd have to force people to move things around. It's generally not practical to do this and is certainly not the fault of any cell carrier.

--D

[haythem @ Oct 6th 2006 3:33PM]

ahhh, thats what i figured, oh well

i'm sure we're gonna miss on a lot 3g phone goodness

[CodeSmoke @ Oct 6th 2006 3:56PM]

make sure your sim card says 3G on it. This fixed some of the issues for other Cingular users on some other forums.

[frank @ Oct 6th 2006 7:29PM]

I've been a loyal T-Mo customer for a few years but this news definitely comes with mixed emotions. A real 3G network will be great for the vast majority of their customers but I (and, I would presume, other readers of this blog) represent the 1% of customers who don't fit neatly into a box. I will always blow my paychecks on overpriced euro handsets before the american carriers have a chance to get them. As I type, I'm closely watching an Ebay auction for a Sammy SGH D900, which I'm pretty sure will keep me happy for a at least a month or so.

The beauty of the GSM (or at this point it's more like non-CDMA) carriers is the ability to use whatever sweet ass phone you want and not have to worry about whether your carrier supports it. I'd sooner cut off one of my legs than switch to Sprint or Verizon where I'm stuck using whatever bogus handsets they're selling at the moment.

Fok, why do american providers have to be so god d@m# proprietary!?!?!

[3560freak @ Oct 6th 2006 10:16PM]

frank, read Droo's comments above


"There isn't a way around that. The reason is as simple as the fact we allocate frequencies for innovation and other services faster than the rest of the world. In order to line things up with the international 3G standard, we'd have to force people to move things around. It's generally not practical to do this and is certainly not the fault of any cell carrier."

The reason that they didn't have the option to but into the EU frequency. The government allocates spectrum for all agencies and in order to make $$$$ they decided that it would be benificial to sell off some frequency that wasn't being fully used. Since many of these are either public or emergency/military, you cannot expect them to just tell all firemen/police officers/EMS to buy new equipment because they were going to sell their frequency to the cell providers. Besides if they did do that then your city taxes would increase to pay for new equipment. So which would you rather do, buy a "crippled American handset" for 3G and EU phones for EDGE or pay higher taxes and risk interruption in emergency services so that you can use your shiney new HTC/Nokia smartphone?

[Z @ Oct 7th 2006 6:28AM]

However it works out, I guess we're going to need quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and five-band UMTS/HSDPA phones just to allow them to work on all the GSM and 3G networks. Ridiculous, but if they can make phones like that, then I'm all for it.

I'd just want to know that no matter where or which GSM network I took my sub-thousand dollar unlocked GSM phone to, it would work. That's the bottom line.

[Urbanstorm @ Oct 7th 2006 9:21AM]

I hate when people said's a carrier sucks and has no idea how cellphones "really" work.Little tip make sure nothing wrong with your cell phone before bashing "ANY" carrier.


Anyway heres the current list so far on who beats who in 3G

EV-DO :

Verizon>Spirt

UMTS/HSPA :

Cingular>T-mobile


In the end cingular will win in the "HSPA" race because just like t-mobiles EDGE VS Cingular EDGE , cingular has more cell towers to support there network than t-mobile have.


And correct me if im wrong but didnt t-mobile drop like 50% of there roaming agreements with cingular so how do they expect to compeat with cingulars 3G network.....

[Jonathan @ Oct 8th 2006 12:15AM]

Haha. Yeah, OK.

I'm sure it's the PHONE's fault, when the 3G network is only a few WEEKS old here in Columbus. The Cingular rep. told me herself, "The 3G network is very intermittent" when I asked her how it was doing since it was brand spanking new.

Here's the deal, you can pay to fly me to a major metropolitan area where the Cingular 3G network is several months old, and I will bet you my first born that the phone works just FINE.

And instaed of just stating "it's obvious," explain to me in EXPLICIT DETAIL what makes it so obvious.

[Jordan @ Oct 9th 2006 9:24AM]

Why didn't you just try a different handset instead? I wouldn't have left the store without a replacement if it was under warranty. Especially only to leave and incur the costs of switching carriers.

But that's just me. I'm stuck with Verizon, so I'm used to sucky handsets.. ;)

[Roger @ Oct 11th 2006 11:10PM]

So what is the better phone service? I have verizon but its pretty expensive when I go over passed my minutes and text messaging. I need my phone for my small business because i get customers trying to reach me. I guess my question is should I stick with Verizon or get a differet phone carrier with more minutes I was thinking of switching to t-mobile.

[Jonathan @ Oct 18th 2006 12:21AM]

I know this article is ancient, but for all the haters in the comments that told me my 3G phone was at fault... You are all totally WRONG.

I just returned the phone to Cingular today (since I'm now with T-mo) and the Cingular rep most definitely verified that they are having MAJOR trouble with the 3G network here in Columbus. He said that everyone in the city is having the same problem I did.

I'm glad I got rid of Cingular and switched to T-Mobile!

[Tony @ Nov 10th 2006 8:17PM]

OK I read the entire thread and still remain confused and unsure. I am with t mobile and there $20month unlimited internet for 4 years up here in NH. My connection is thru a moto V33o BT and mobile phone tools. I am running this all thru the latest and greatest Dell. I am in a position to improve my connection but unsure of the direction to take. I am considering an aircard Ericsson or Sierra. Is there any noticeable increase in speed btween the standard GPRS aircards and my V330 cell phone modem? That EDGE technology is it on its way up to New Hampshire? If it was I could take advantage of a more advanced combination aircrd (gprs/wifi/edge). Can I simply just purchase a 3G phone which the V330 is not and get increased speeds. Signal/QoS here is great, I just want to get a little faster.