T-Mobile takes entire 3G network to 7.2Mbps
By Chris Ziegler 
posted January 5th 2010 11:21AM
posted January 5th 2010 11:21AM
It's really that upcoming 21Mbps HSPA+ action that has us all hot and bothered, but T-Mobile USA took a nice little interim step today in announcing that its entire 3G footprint has now been upgraded from 3.6 to 7.2Mbps. Considering that AT&T won't be at 100 percent 7.2Mbps coverage for some time to come, this is a nice little boost -- of course, T-Mob's got a smaller network to contend with, so it's a trade-off for customers. Can someone do us a favor and drop us a line when we can finally have both a blazing network and coverage everywhere? At the same time?[Thanks, Patrick]
I wish AT&T would get it's head out of it's arse and light the fires on 7.2 and faster. It's inexcusable now. What the hell is so hard?
@Nerdtalker "What the hell is so hard?"
Parting the Death Star with it's iPhone profits.
@Nerdtalker They already have in some areas, see this thread:
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1587262&page=4&pp=15
@Standup Philosopher And pardon the grammatical faux pas in that last comment.
@Nerdtalker "I wish AT&T would get it's head out of it's arse"
*looks at Nerdtalker's avatar*
...teehee.
@Nerdtalker
T-Mobile just flipped the script on AT&T...script flip o0 o0!
@Nerdtalker
SPRINT ROCKS...but keep fighting it out Verizon and AT&T because this is fun to watch.
@Nerdtalker That's what she said?
@Nerdtalker
ATT has had 7.2mbit since summer when Apple released the 3Gs since it actually has an upgraded 7.2mbit radio compared to the 3G.
I get ~4-5mbit on my 3Gs in the city no problem.
@SirMaster
It does not have the backend to suppor the faster speed towers, so its 7.2 theoretically right now. Until the bottle neck is fixed(planned for 2011) then AT&T's 3G speeds wont be any faster and you will continue to face dropped calls and slow connections.
Tmobile just needs large coverage. They have had horrible coverage for the last 10 years. No body i know in Portland that has tried em, has liked what they had.
So according to ATT tmo is a better 3g experience cuz there faster right?
@Engadgeter
Oh SNAP!!! lol
@Engadgeter Then they would start talking about map coverage. What an interesting turn of events.
That's no excuse in my book.
Within a year...T-Mobile now has 200 million subscribers covered by 3G.
Compared to AT&T's 230 million in how long of a timespan??
T-Mobile is moving fast...and already putting out trials for 21Mbps speeds.
With this I say...they can take their time with LTE. Because if they roll it out like they've done this 3G...I won't be too sad on the wait.
@iDavey
I meant people, not subscribers. =]
So the ATT fastest 3g commercial don't count anymore?
AT&T, time to change that commercial. Fastest?
@One Love
I think T-Mobile should file a lawsuit.
I know their lawyers want some action. They the only carrier to not use em lately.
@iDavey
According to federal trade law, a commercial can be run unchanged if, at the time the commercial was made and first aired, the claims were true. So AT&T only has to change FUTURE commercial, if that. They'll probably just qualify it even more. Besides, I thought AT&T had some areas at 7.2 Mbps already, so they are still "fastest", just not "the fastest".
@iDavey
And now verizon also needs to find an advantage over tmo. Tmo will be all over the news now and proudly state it in all its commercials about its awesome speed. Verizon needs a way to challenge this directly like it did maps for that. Or hopefully bump up its speed as well.
I would be very happy for this.
@factoryEquipment
And that's just how they will.
They cover 200 million with 3G. They have faster 3G speeds.
But Verizon coverage area compared to T-Mobile's is still no competition.
But I'm just fine with my T-Mobile here in Louisville.
I have great reception, awesome 3G speeds...I couldn't ask for more.
Except a Nexus One!
Did google have something to do with this??
Maybe I don't know
@factoryEquipment Yeah, you gotta think that flipping the switch on the day the Nexus One is set to be announced is more than mere coincidence, right?
And my desire to go back to T-Mobile increases yet again. Seriously, bar the iPhone itself, I have not been happy with my switch.
@Dale P
+1
Im also regretting the switch. I had no issues while i was with T-mobile. ATT has been a headache for the past 2 years.
@Dale P
I'd love to go back to T-Mobile. I got tired of waiting for 3G though. I was promised and promised and promised "Within 2 months" for 2+ years. When I started traveling for work, I NEEDED 3G data coverage for tethering and just couldn't go on without it. Switched to Vz, was happy for almost 3 years and then was lured by the iPhone. I have no real complaints about AT&T's coverage in my area (Southeastern PA), but always liked T-Mobile's customer service, and general coverage in this area as well. They are also cheaper... much cheaper, pound for pound.
T-Mobile were definitely caught on the hop by this whole mobile Internet thing - before I left them for AT&T, I had trouble getting even GPRS/Edge data from them.
They're certainly learning their lessons, though. It's also nice to see them making improvements to their pricing and their network instead of bickering with their rivals constantly.
@Dale P
Move to the Netherlands, T-Mobile has exclusivity on the iPhone there. (Great coverage too, iPhone data plan is limited to 2Mbps though)
:P
To answer your question Chris, there is a carrier that does have a reliable, phenomenal network with blazing fast speed (in practice too!) and awesome coverage:
"O, hai there Verizon!"
:)
@yoko1324
Verizon's 3G is only comparable to AT&T's 2G network in terms of download speeds.
@James Sonne
Untrue, while Big Red's EV-DO isn't as fast as ATT's HSDPA, it is 3-4x faster than EDGE, on average.
And before any Verizon boosters pop up claiming 3Mb downloads, that's a burst speed, not sustained.
Does this mean t-mobile will now bring a lawsuit to att for their "fastest 3g network" claim?
Both Bell & Telus here in Canada have HSPA+ networks in place. The unfortunate thing is that Bell only has one HSPA+ device, the Novatel U998 Turbostick.
This would be totally awesome if T-Mobile even attempted to have service near me.
Tmobile FTW!
I just tested my ATT connection 125kbps on 3G. Why do I feel like I'm paying for a service I'm not getting?
@Snails Hope that iphone was worth the upfront cost plus higher monthly contract...
@RMGH It was.
@Snails
Ouch!
getting 1.17Mb on Att 3G in metro detroit
@logicbombde In Los Angeles near LAX for whatever it's worth. Retesting @9am revealed 25kbps.
@Snails
I just test my G1...
I got 2909kbps
@iDavey Yeah, I just got 3033k down and 390k up on my G1 here in San Francisco. That makes me happy :-)
@Jeremy99 What! That's rediculous! I only get 721.5 kbit/s and 141 kbit/s up on my G1, and I'm in San Francisco too!
@Jeremy99
Where were you in the city when you got those speeds? My best speeds in SF so far are 969k down and 1021k up. I imagine this fluctuates due to the city's terrain. Love this place though!
ah, just in time for the new google nexus one. coincidence? nah!
Consider yourself notified. I am not getting anything as sweet at 3k+ but at 1200-1500k I am doing better that 3x what I used to get. Mind you I am in NYC where we are pretty saturated, but still, its nice.
dimes
As an iPhone user that is impressive but as the article mentions they don't have as large a network as AT&T (which isn't saying much)...
AT&T should really get it's act together...it'd be nice to have a reliable 3G service. Even where I am I get dropped internet signals constantly. Phone calls once in a while.
Just ridiculous.
@ME2Adept
Try a different handset, ATT's network has serious issues, but the iPhone's sub-par radio and unusual signal management makes a bad situation worse.
@jon
I have the Blackberry Bold and i currently have 5 bars of EDGE. I dont thinks its the handsets, its the "NETWORK". I hate the fact i pay $30 extra for something im only getting 3 or 4 hours a day. Dallas is right up the street from me. I should be getting 3G all the time.
@eminisp
I have an HTC Pure, I know almost a dozen people with iPhones. I always, not usually, always have better signal and fewer drops than than they do. Seems like a handset problem to me.
I mean, since we're going by personal experience and all.