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T-Mobile's 5G network goes live ahead of schedule
Last month, T-Mobile promised its 5G network would go live in 5,000 cities and towns on December 6th -- if its merger with Sprint went through. That deal is not yet final, but today, a few days ahead of schedule, T-Mobile says it's launching its nationwide 5G network. The catch is that, for now, T-Mobile is offering 600 MHz "low-band" 5G.
Verizon 4G LTE service arrives in 46 new cities, expands coverage in 22 others
Unlike many of our friends in Europe, loads more Verizon Wireless customers are about to get turbocharged in time for their new Galaxy S III smartphones to arrive. Big Red is deploying its latest 4G LTE network tech in 46 new cities and expanding coverage in 22 others -- and it's all going down tomorrow. That'll bring VZW's total up to 304 cities across the land of the free two full weeks ahead of the July 4th holiday, giving many people one more reason to celebrate a Hump Day without work. And really, couldn't the world use more reasons to celebrate? Full PR after the break.
RootMetrics launches Cell Phone Coverage Map, uses crowd-sourcing to test networks' lofty claims
When dealing in Soviet relations, President Reagan impressed upon a generation the mantra, "Trust, but verify." Decades later, this skeptical method is being applied to mobile carriers thanks to RootMetrics' Cell Phone Coverage Map, a crowd-sourced application aiming to provide reliable, verified information on network availability and performance. The app, now available to iPhone and Android users, provides a convenient way to determine which provider has the best signal in your area, and also happens to be great for spite, if you felt a coverage map wasn't telling the full truth. Yes, let's get it out of the way right now -- Root collects your stats and then sells it to the networks -- though given the purpose of the service, we're inclined to let criticism pass on this one. If you're undeterred by that caveat, hop on the bandwagon and share your results for the benefit of all (even if your battery doesn't thank you).
Verizon LTE plans start at $50/month for 5GB of data (update)
And here we go: Verizon just announced its 4G LTE pricing and full list of coverage areas. Some 38 markets will go live when the switch is flipped on December 5, including Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and LA, and pricing starts at $50/month for 5GB of data, with an $80/month plan for 10GB. Overages run $10 per GB, which isn't insane, and there's also supplemental coverage in around 60 airports. Check the full PR after the break. Update: Some highlights from today's press conference: More modems will be coming out within "weeks" and are all backwards compatible with its EV-DO network. Verizon will talk about "consumer-oriented devices" (translation: phones) at CES. The modems are capable of 4G-to-3G handoff, but not 3G-to-4G -- they'll stay on 3G until you're done transmitting data. The LTE and 3G plans might integrate, according to CTO Tony Melone, but probably not until 2012 or 2013. It sounds like the modems will only be available in stores on December 5th -- no third-party retailers at first.
Verizon to debut LTE in 38 cities, 'half a dozen' 4G smartphones and tablets in 1H 2011
We're live from CTIA 2010 in San Francisco, where newly-appointed Verizon president and COO Lowell McAdam has taken the stage. He's been on the job just five days now, but he's already got a nice spot of news: Verizon will have LTE connections in 38 markets as soon as they flip the switch -- up from the 30 football cities announced earlier this month. More exciting, a host of LTE devices are on the way, too: "Come CES at January, and we will show half-a-dozen smartphones and tablets from the top OEMs in the world that will be available in the first half of the year," said McAdam. 8 to 12 megabits per second, here we come. See the full tentative 4G coverage map with a list of confirmed cities in our gallery below. %Gallery-104428%
Verizon 'vampire' ad rips off Twilight, sticks it to AT&T
Hey, remember how all the lawsuits got dropped over the holiday period and we thought AT&T and Verizon would finally start to coexist like mature entities engaged in a civilized industry? Yeah, that didn't last very long. Verizon is back with a biting ad campaign that continues poking fun at AT&T's 3G coverage. The consumer is appropriately a vampire, whereas the young maiden keen on being consumed turns out to be... well, it's more fun if we just let you watch it without any more spoilers. Needless to say, it's some of Verizon's funniest work yet. Head on past the break to see it. [Thanks, Jay]
Sensorly aims to keep coverage maps honest
Say you're planning that next camping trip and you need to know whether you're going to be able to incessantly check your work email every 10 minutes -- do you trust a carrier's coverage map of unknown age, origin, and honesty, or real-world experience? If French firm Sensorly has its way, you'll soon be able to answer the latter thanks to the deployment of an app for your phone that continuously measures cellular and WiFi signal strength at your location and silently reports it back to the company's servers where it's compiled into color-coded maps predicting your ability to connect. The concept's very similar to that being undertaken by another up-and-comer that's been getting a good deal of coverage lately, Root Wireless, but the key difference is that Root's system is still in private beta -- Sensorly's mobile app is available right now to anyone who'd like to download it and participate (albeit only for Android; iPhone and WinMo are in the pipe). It seems unlikely that they've got critical mass to provide meaningful feedback in most areas at this point, but if marginal boost in battery drain is tolerable for you, it might be worth giving it a whirl.
T-Mobile's data coverage maps now have added 3G flavor
Check it out, from this zoom level Chicago's looking flush as far as T-Mobile 3G is concerned -- yeah, that's right, it seems they've gotten to a point where they're actually willing to show it off. We're betting T-Mobile's Android-based G1 announcement that's set for tomorrow was the impetus for this update, and we suspect we'll learn more about the network then. Feel free to put the site through its paces in your neck of the woods and let us know if you're one of the lucky places. Hit the read link to play with the map, but make sure you tick the "data coverage" option at the bottom of the page first.[Via SlashPhone]