You can't make heads or tails of what carrier might be getting this version of the Bold 9700 just by looking at the wireframe diagram buried in the ID label documentation, but here's an important clue: it got tested for WCDMA Band IV, also known as AWS -- so yeah, that would be a pretty solid indicator that this puppy is T-Mobile USA's version. You could spend literally hours thumbing through the hundreds of pages of RF test results here, so curl up on a cushy futon and geek out -- just do us a favor and don't actually print it out, okay?

"T-Mobile USA" and "3G modem" aren't two things you frequently heard uttered in the same sentence -- but now that the number four carrier's got a budding HSPA network that's all dressed up with no place to go, it's time to start rolling out some serious hardware (G1 aside) to take advantage. On that note, T-Mobile's finally getting serious about laptop data, launching its rumored webConnect USB stick today with an integrated microSDHC slot, HSDPA 1900 / 2100 / AWS for compatibility in the US and abroad, and triband EDGE for those times -- and there will be many at first -- when you're out of 3G coverage. The webConnect launches today for $49.99 on a two-year contract after rebate or $249.99 contract-free.

When Sony Ericsson's TM506 was leaked earlier this month, there was no mention made of the flip's support of AWS 3G. Thankfully (thankfully!), the official launch brings along confirmed support for the protocol. SE is linking up with T-Mobile USA once again, providing a stylishly small handset that sports a 2-megapixel camera, built-in A-GPS (TeleNav), stereo Bluetooth support, an M2 card slot, multimedia playback, outer / inner displays and 9.5-hours of GSM talk time (250-hours on standby). Curiously, no price is mentioned, but you can find out for yourself when this lands in stores early next month.

Just over a year ago, we were all making bitter beer faces at FCC chairman Kevin Martin for not going along with a delightful sounding "free internet" plan. Now, it seems the main man's tune has changed. During a recent interview, Martin stated that there was a "social obligation in making sure everybody could participate in the next generation of broadband services because, increasingly, that's what people want." He's reportedly looking to attach a free mobile broadband requirement to the AWS-3 spectrum that's set to be auctioned next year, which would require the winner to allocate 25% for gratis access. 'Course, we wouldn't get our hopes us for this to actually go down like it surely is playing out in your mind just now, but we won't fault you for dreamin'.

[Via phonescoop]

There isn't necessarily any single morsel of news here, but 3G Americas -- the group responsible for keeping GSM on the up and up this side of the pond -- just wants everyone to know that it likes AWS' chances for gaining ground in this part of the world for new HSPA (and eventually, LTE) deployments. Yanks may know AWS better as the weird flavor of bandwidth T-Mobile has gotten stuck with for deploying its desperately overdue 3G services; it utilizes spectrum in both the 1700 and 2100MHz spaces to push bits around, and while it hasn't yet been commercially deployed on a wide scale, the consortium points out that AWS spectrum auctions are in the pipe for Canada, Chile, and Mexico, among others. Naturally, that's very good news for anyone who finds themselves shopping for an AWS handset down the road, seeing how broader support across borders leads to broader manufacturer support -- a fact that 3G Americas is also quick to note. European and Asian buy-in is another matter altogether, but we'll take what we can get.

[Via Phone Scoop]

So we've been sitting on this whole E90 controversy for a few days here, trying to separate the wheat from the chaff. Fact is, a part of us is hoping that we can will an HSDPA 850 / 1700 / 1900-sporting Nokia E90 into existence, but we shouldn't have to; the need for firms like Nokia and Sony Ericsson to wake up and spend the extra few bucks to shove global 3G radios into every last one of their phones is painfully obvious. Anyway, numerous readers have pointed out that the document in the E90's FCC filing referencing WCDMA on the 850, 1700, and 1900MHz bands is merely pointing out (for no good reason, may we add) the FCC's own radiation limits on those bands, and is probably not indicative of what bands are present within any particular device. We personally wouldn't think the FCC needs to be reminded of those limits in a test report, but perhaps we'll let the technicians be technicians here and we'll stick to our writin' gig. If y'all hear any good news about Nokia coming to its senses on this one, please be pals and pass on the good news -- but in the meantime, we'll go back to our 3G bellyaching.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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.]

We're sure that you've been following the FCC's blow-by-blow coverage of the AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) spectrum auction as closely as you would the "So You Think You Can Dance" competition, but just in case you've been busy for the last 161 rounds of bidding, we're here to let you know that the results are in and the winners have been crowned (assuming that they cough up the millions or billions of dollars they've pledged, that is). This wireless horse race has remained mostly unchanged for the last few dozen rounds -- after the DirecTV-Echostar consortium known as Wireless DBS dropped out of the running, even we mostly lost interest -- with T-Mobile finally emerging as the seemingly largest beneficiary. For a cool $4.1 billion (yes, that's billion with a "b"), the Mob picked up 120 licenses covering most of the US, a move that was essential for the company to kick-start its rather slow entrance into the 3G data game. Other big winners included Spectrum Co. and AWS Wireless, who picked up 137 and 154 licenses, respectively, along with Verizon (13 blocks covering most of the Eastern US) and MetroPCS, which snatched up 8 licenses in key areas such as Texas and Detroit. Overall, 104 bidders made it through the entire auction to pick up a grand total of 1,087 licenses, with the biggest winner of all being the good ole US government: the total amount of loot that was bid reached a staggering $13.7 billion, which is basically found money considering that everyone was simply battling over the right to use invisible radio spectrum. If you're at all interested in a more specific run-down of who got what and for how much, hit the Read link to check out the auction home page, where the FCC has thoughtfully posted about a million pages of charts, tables, and graphs laying it all out in excruciatingly boring detail.

[Via MocoNews]