T-Mobile to debut 3G as voice-only. No data. We're over it.
By Ryan Block 
posted Apr 30th 2008 4:24PM
posted Apr 30th 2008 4:24PM
Well screw us -- T-Mobile's 3G network debut tomorrow? It's going to be voice only. That's right, you heard us, VOICE ONLY. So trepidatious is this company to actually get their 3G data rollout, um, rolled out, they're launching first with kneecapped voice-only service, keeping only EDGE for those demanding data. Here's the snippet from the memo we received:"3G is the next generation of our wireless network, following our current GSM network. In this early phase of our network evolution, 3G is a new technology for carrying wireless voice calls and supporting existing data capabilities on our network. In future phases, this next generation network will power 'high-speed' (3G) products and services that connect customers in new and exciting ways. ... Inform customers who are interested in high-speed data that the first phase of our 3G roll out supports voice only." [Emphasis ours]
No word on when T-Mobile actually plans to turn on the faster data, but for everyone who hasn't already jumped ship -- hoping against hope -- the wait continues.
P.S. -Don't believe everything you hear about this kind of thing being status quo. Every single major US 3G network -- including Cingular, Verizon, and Sprint -- went live as either data card-only (with phones added later), or data and voice together.
That's some crazy bologna right there.
3g VOICE...wow, is it gonna be stereo 5.1 surround dolby digital?
I don't know what you're talking about- I'm able to talk 4x faster now! As one of the many cattle auctioneers who lobbied T-mobile for this, this was a much needed step in the right direction.
You could make a podcast on you phone then upload it to your caller. That's (still) technically voice. (Please just shot me down)
That's technically data, and your humor escapes me.
So did I read this right..... "3G is a new technology...". Ummmmm.... hasn't 3G been in place in Asia and Europe (or maybe more specifically Germany) for at least a three years now?
http://www.nordicwirelesswatch.com/wireless/story.html?story_id=3558
Sprecken ze Bogus?
Hell, 3G has been in the US for atleast 2 years.
3 years is pretty new for a communications service.
Re: the main article, better to get 3G voice now and the rest of the the 3G packages later, rather than nothing now and all of it later.
Oh and to the people saying "now I can talk 4x faster..." that's not how it works. Speed and bandwidth have effectively the same result: more people can use it at once, less data gets lost.
and even when it's this stupid I really pronounce it " bo-la-ga-na" :P
maybe they changed it to voice only because you guys refused to change engadget mobile.
Million dollar question. Where / what are the 3G handsets they have on offer.. WCDMA (3G voice) is useless without it. Considering they use a frequency nobody else does..
Nobody beleived me when I said this months ago on a similar post.
But who cares. It sucks.
I am somewhat glad to hear, because It be a shame to put that spectrum to almost outdated technology. I would prefer they focus all that resource towards 4G (LTE). That way, maybe at&t and Verizon will start there 4G roll out a little sooner.
yessir.. bologna
which reminds me... Sandwich time mmmhmmm =P
How can you think of food at a time like this!
:-)
so explain to me please, whats a tangible benefit to using 3G for voice,..less call drops? clarity? what..?
Acoustic coupler modem what? Yea, i dont think that there is a shit of difference that the average end user would be able to hear on their end, but perhaps the coverage or signal strenght would be better considering it is out on the 1700 band. AFAIC, this is a total marketing ploy. Total fail T-Mobile. Glad i left you for 3g. 2 FRICKEN YEARS AGO!
More throughput is always better. But yes, clarity.
It allows them to have more capacity on the same spectrum. Highly doubtful that you'll see any difference in the quality of your calls unless their network was at capacity in your area.
This basically buys nothing for existing customers and allows Tmo to add more voice lines to their network.
On the bright side, at least their engineers are working with 3g technology now. The data has got to come eventually.....
Okay, so this is a little odd, because generally everyone considers voice harder to do than data.. users are less tolerant of drops, problems in voice quality are much more evident to the end users, etc. Also, you can usually monetize the new data capacity faster than you can new voice capacity.
When you get right down to it, in UMTS there isn't a huge difference between voice and data at the base station. Unlike CDMA voice and data, you can actually use the same block of spectrum for both voice and data at the same time. So, you go out into the field, screw your base stations (NodeBs) into the ground, point your antennas, do your RF engineering, and you hook 'em up to your Radio Network Controller, and you're good to go.
Now when you get into the core network, that's when things split. Hooked up to the RNC, there are two network elements that handle the voice traffic (the MSC and GMSC), and two that handle the data (SGSN and GGSN).
One possible explanation for what's going on here is that they had limited capacity for voice, and not enough people and money to roll out voice and data at the same time, and so they picked voice because they just plain needed more capacity.
Another possibility is that their MSC vendor had an easier upgrade path for them (a simple software add-on or maybe just bolt on another cabinet) than their SGSN vendor did, and they could just get there first.
Other than that, there's other odd technical reasons: maybe they're having problems getting enough IPs for the glut of data users they want to support. Maybe they don't have enough capacity in their nationwide data network, and they need upgrades.
My guess is that, for whatever reason, their core network people on the voice side could be ready before the core network people on the data side.
At this point, data is just about getting the core network finished. If they're doing voice, they should be looking at both data and HSPA as software-only upgrades, so if I was a T-Mo customer, I wouldn't sweat it too much.
funny (sad?)... I have 3G in Kansas City.
On what carrier?
AT&T (Cingular when I bought it)
Howz the coverage, I've heard it is decent in the southern burbs (Leawood, OP, Lenexa, Olathe, etc.) but kinda crappy up north or in the MO burbs...
It's just fine... I live in the West Plaza and work in NKC. not a problem! of course, my last carrier was sprint, so everything seems like a better connection (rocks, small mammals, etc...) we have a few Motorola phones that are within a few years old...
: )
T-Mobile....so much potential....so little provided!
weak! -- lol @ t-mobile...
and be certain "he wait continues" is correct
I love Amish furniture. Ever seen it/tried it? Great.
what is the point of 3G if it's voice only, we'll all talk faster?
stupid cel phone carriers
What's the point of having a 52X CD-ROM? It doesn't play music any faster.
@Towncivilian... 52X CD-ROMs are faster for data transfer.
3G is faster for data transfer.
T-Mobile is missing something here.
"3G if it's voice only"
Marketing!
@Mark and the idiots who marked him high:
You are totally lost on the sarcasm. He was making a sarcastic advantage trying to show the OP how stupid he was for only looking at one aspect of 3G (i.e. 1 aspect of CD-ROM drives).
Idiots.
52X is the sampling rate -- not data transfer. The higher the samplling rate, the more data points obtained from the [analog] audio data input. Having more data points to be reintegrated back into the audio allows better sound reproduction.
Uh, 52X IS the transfer rate. You know nothing about transfer rates. 52X is 150KB times 52, so approx 7.8MB/sec. The sampling rate of a CD-ROM is fixed, 44100 samples per second, 16 bit resolution, 2 channel stereo, which is 44100*16*2/8=176.4K/sec. CD-ROMs have error correction in the sectors which reduces the actual data to 150KB/sec for a 1X CD-ROM.
I hope you don't teach computers.
Soooo tired of waiting for 3G.
I've been a T-Mo customer (aka LUZER) since 2002.
WTF T-Mo!
I've been a T-Mob customer since they were called Aerial...
My brand loyalty PWNs your brand loyalty... And we're both tards...*tear*
I've been a T-Mo customer since 2002 as well, never had a cell phone before that.
Of course when my contract runs out in June, I'm gone this time. That's IT t-mobile, you really blew this 3G thing, I'm going to Verizon. Oh yeah, and you know what else t-mobile, you never fixed those dead spots in my town you said you were "working" on two years ago!
I've been with them since VoiceStream witht the Nokia 3390 then the B&W Sidekick. Never been with another cellphone company. Definitely considering other companies nowadays!
as if you needed another reason to leave T-Mobile.
I've been with T-Mo for 8 years. Don't know why I have sat around so long.
I wish Android would come out already.
Wow, if you want to go wtih GSM in the States, you can choose either AT&T's crap 3G coverage or T-Mobile's vapor-coverage (vaporage?). What a joke! 3G voice means absolutely nothing, other than the most important part of the equation ain't done yet.
Beyond lame!!!!!!!! SRSLY. Do they do that in Europe? Charge you for 3G and not allow data at 3G speeds?
In the UK most of our networks have already upgraded to HSDPA, never mind 3G. At least you yanks can take solace in the fact that your northern neighbours get an even rawer deal than you do.
I do find T-Mobile's actions strange. A few moths ago in the UK they singed a deal with 3 to merge their 3G networks together to give 90% coverage (just like Vodafone and Orange).
I had my first contract phone with them back in Nov07 and it was also the first time that I used T-Mobile. At no stage did they indicate that HSDPA would not be available to me, despite them advertising the phone as having HSDPA (it is also advertised on the box). Low and behold I get the phone and play around with it and to my surprise I wasn't getting HSDPA connections, so I queried it them them.
To my utter shock and disbelieve my "tariff isn't eligible for an HSDPA connection". No where in the T&C did it mention this and nowhere on their site did it mention it (the site has been updated since I took out my contract with them). I was completely pissed off and caught out and their CS people were very unaccommodating. They had one chance with me and they blew it - simple as that.
Another thing that is shocking with them is that their signal output is absolutely appalling despite me living in a "good" connection area. I could put my phone down somewhere and have a full signal then I could literally move it one inch in any direction and get no signal. On occasions I have put it down while having a full/good signal and left the phone and when I come back I find the signal is completely gone. I've also heard of other people experiencing similar things, it's just a seriously lacking network.
It behaves in this temperamental manner all over the place, and if it wasn't so annoying (and serious if you need to make an emergency call) it would be a comical. I really have to be careful where I put it down and where I use it. I could be walking while using it and get completely cut off because I hit a bad reception patch, even while right in the middle of town. I'm just...oh so pissed off with T-mobile and their lame service.
I can't wait for them to phone me up and try to persuade me into getting another contract out with them. By the time I've finished them their ears will be bleeding. They've really made the experience of owning a vario III very disappointing. Even their 3G service is dire.
NEVER AGAIN T-MOBILE NEVER AGAIN.
@r3loaded
Like most Europeans, you seem to be vastly misinformed about the state of US mobile services.
AT&T offers HSDPA in the US and has done so for quite some time.
EVDO is also pretty much universal.
T-Mobile, a GERMAN-OWNED company, is behind in the US for spectrum reasons.
Epic fail.
Well they just lost me as a customer. I was waiting, and waiting....looks like it's Sprint for unlimited everything or AT&T for HSDPA....Tmobile really has some balls to pull this. I don't remember the last time I was this angry. Are they idiots? Who in their right mind uses 3G for better call quality? no one. that's who. No freaking one on the earth is excited about a 3G-3.5G network so they can have better call quality....it's for faster data DUH. I feel like I'm on the titanic here.....
Geez, what happens when you get REAL bad news? Does your head explode?
If I were a T-Mobile subscriber, I'd tell them to go to hell over this one.
I think it's time for you T-Mobile subscribers to suck it up and sign up with a big boy carrier.
You do know that most of the people on this planet people don't have a need for 3g data right? I bet if you polled 10 random people in a busy mall maybe 2 would say they have 3g and use it often. hell I'm fine with edge. I only use it to send/receive email on my T-mobile Dash. I do have a computer for browsing the internet you know. o.o
They say ignorance is bliss. Before 3G went live in my area, I didn't know that I needed it. Now that I have it, I don't know what I'd do without it.
The providers are building up these 3G networks for a reason. Millions of people use them, and demand them. If you're happy with EDGE, that's great. I wouldn't be, and I'd wager that the majority of the readers of sites like this agree with me.
You do know that most of the people on this planet people don't have a need for cellular phones right? I bet if you polled 10 random people in a busy town center maybe 2 would say they have a cell phone and use it often. hell I'm fine with a walky talky. I only use it to talk to my mother in law. I do have a landline for calling other people you know. o.o
You do know that most of the people on this planet people don't have a need for electricity right? I bet if you polled 10 random people in yonder frontier maybe 2 would say they have electricity and use it often. hell I'm fine with a good wood stove. I only use it to cook me dinner. I do have a candle for seeing at night you know. o.o
You do know that most of the people on this planet...
We don't NEED many many things Spart, the modern world is full of stuff we don't NEED.
BUT the real point of this article is why does T-Mobile USA keep remaining so behind not only other US cell providers but even it's own European base? Continually offering out-of-date technology while everyone else has moved ahead. EDGE is no longer considered high speed. 3G is much faster. I used to be skeptical too, until I started using it compared to EDGE. You should see how much faster pages load, there is a noticable difference.
Has anyone heard of phone companies trying to actually improve the sound-quality of calls? I don't mean improving the call coverage. I mean so that the voice from calls sound very crisp and not "telephony."
Would 3G help with that, as well as improved phone hardware?
If T-Mobile needs a 3G network to improve their call quality, they're worse off than I thought.
Are you kidding? We are talking 'bout the US, don't we?
Blu-ray player sales down despite end of format war...
Why? Because the consumer chose HD-DVD.
Doesn't this website do gadget news anymore? Come on.
HD-DVD pwns you from the grave.
How is that pertinent at all?
Nice Hummer. Dumbass.
Well, at least I got Low Ranked. ;)
I was going for Lowest of the Low.
Well I live in the sticks and can't get anyones 3G except Sprints EVDO, so it's always been wait and see. If TMo's EDGE was at least up to full speed, it would be tolerable at $20/month.
I understand why everyone has their panties in a bunch but remember T-Mobile didn't announce anything. You guys got excited over a leaked internal document...
...and yes, I said leaked internal.
Guys, think about this for a minute - even if they did debut 3G tomorrow as voice and data, what devices would take full advantage of it? Four pathetic, low-end phones that should be restricted to voice anyway.
Yes, I'm also sick and tired of waiting for T-Mobile's 3G network, but without good devices to take FULL advantage of their 3G network, there is no point.
My unlocked AT&T Tilt w/T-Mob sim would love to access T-Mob G3...
Before you all even start flaming me: I bought it for the hardware (i.e. it runs WM6.1 like a dream) I didn't give a rat's ass about G3 when I bought it. I have WiFi at 90% of the places I go regularly so I barely use the Edge data connection as it is. Oh and I got it for less than half of MSRP (slightly less that it would cost w/ 2-yr contract from AT&T).
Tilt won't work. Does not support 1700 frequency.
i dont really care about data. i know some people need it for work, but i really dont like to use data features on my cell phone so this really isnt a big deal to me. And i really dont think 3g is that much of a improvment over edge, now if we were going to 4g that be something.
I'm a newbie here to this 3G stuff. Will this be an extra charge that we have to pay? Just curious!!!!
Have the Amish started using cellphones yet? If so, I suppose they'll waiting outside of the Apple Cube store to pick up the 3G iPhone. It's good to see they're getting over their fear of modern conveniences.
Inbreeding from a reduced gene pool is OK. It's those damn computers that are ruining human life.
Computers are awesome, it's that dang microsoft near-monopoly and apple's snotty shenanigans that are ruining human life.
and i just extended my contract for another 2 years back in november to cut the cost of my new shadow.. wow.. epic epic fail...
i wonder if the 3g enabled sony ericsson phones (k800i) can take advantage of the new network? hmm..
It's because you didn't respect their magenta take down wishes.
...what if it IS??
T-Mobile has less spectrum than the other players. Hence they have less network capacity than the others. They are deploying 3G because it is more spectrum efficient. I.e. they will be able to handle more calls in the same amount of spectrum.
Wow a sane response instead of a knee jerked reaction...you must be new here.
Thanks John Doe. Not so much new, rather more of a lurker who has a bit of knowledge about mobile tech :)
I wonder if Charles Barkley will kick them out of his 5 for this.
voice only... what a joke. why don't they keep the voice as is and upgrade the data to 3g? i guess thats just too much to ask. T-Mobile, you screwed up. Waiting for IPhone 3G or Blackberry 9000, then we'll see where i take my over $100 monthly bill. Way to go, T-Mo, as if we needed another reason to drop you like an old useless girlfriend.
define "useless"
Unlike girl friends I keep my cellphone carriers when they stop blowing.
I'd rather have less call-dropping, because I honestly don't use data much. I actually wouldn't use it AT ALL, except SOME people insist on only communicating via text-messages.
in other news, road manure from T-mobile horse buggies is causing runoff pollution
I bailed yesterday for Sprint. I want my Slingbox EVERYWHERE I go!!
This article only reinforces my decision to leave. I love T-MO. Cost, GSM, Flexibility... But I want my data NOW!
brux2dc
Wow... I mean, wow. Really? Sprint? Damn! Out of the frying pan and into the fire... Damn.
thanks for signing that post "brux2dc", brux2dc. i was thinking that someone other than brux2dc posted that post.
@phanbouy
Wow... That's anal!
@BlowURmindBowel
Sprint cause I spend $30+ less a month than I would with ATT feature for feature.
****************
brux2dc wrote this replying to brux2dc's original post.
thanks brux2dc. i didn't realize that sarcasm could be too "anal", brux2dc.
you must really like ricky henderson.
I'm pretty sure he knew it was sarcasm because otherwise he'd be thinking "good thing I singed my post indeed." But in sarcasm-land you're rather insulting.
"thanks for signing that post "brux2dc", brux2dc. i was thinking that someone other than brux2dc posted that post."
Sarcasm translator:
"why the fuck do you sign your posts when it already says your name above? Loser!"
@phanbuoy
Nice Ricky Henderson reference. Itln likes Ricky refs.
Not sure if this makes a deference but when I access WAP from my UK T-mobile now .. the little icon that said 3G now says H ... *shrugs*
Funny, T-mobile has good 3G coverage here in the UK, and has done for the last few years. Just the other month, we got 3G coverage to our house on all the major networks (Orange, Vodafone, O2 and T-mobile) and we live in a pretty rural area. Their hotspot coverage is good
Crazy to think this is the same company
That's an old press release, latest I hear is it's going to be voice/data except in a couple markets.
i liked the original you better
I'm going to go the the next T-mobile AGM and ask why they have wasted 10s if not 100s of millions of shareholders money building a 3G network in the US and then only use it for voice.
it's nuts absolutely nuts.
Holy. Shit. This is getting so frustrating that I am tempted to pay the 150 dollar cancellation fee and jump ship. Edge is sooo 2000
You guys should all calm down.
First, this was an internal memo, they are putting up 3g voice, then they will add the data, market by market.
When they are ready with a customer plan they will announce it properly, I don't think they wasted all that money for no reason.
Moreover, there are NO current devices you could use for the data anyway, so why all the hate?
Within 6 mos you will see more (Nokia) devices, an excellent data plan for both cell phones and computers.
I know it pisses people off, but their priority is to give better service (spectrum) to their customers, and then faster data speeds.
I wonder:
- will we have additional coverage in places where we didn't before?\
- will i finally be able to use my phone in the LIRR Penn Station tunnel like Verizon users?
no available devices? uhhh..... you mean besides every unlocked 3G device in existence?
@phanboy: what about the 1700Mhz? most unlocked UMTS phones are either 2100Mhz or 850/1900Mhz.