Aug 31 AT 1:29 PM Taylor Wimberly 30 Comments

T-Mobile expands HSPA+ network, plans to double speeds

Today T-Mobile announced that their HSPA+ network has expanded to 100 million Americans in more than 55 major metropolitan areas and they plan to double its speed in 2011.

New markets that were launched today include Boston, Mass.; Erie, Penn.; Fresno, Palm Springs and San Diego, Calif.; Miami, Fla.; Richmond, Va.; Spokane, Wash.; and Topeka, Kan.

T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network currently offers theoretical peak downloads of 21 Mbps (which they are calling “4G speeds”), but that will double to 42 Mbps next year as the carrier continues to upgrade their network.

The T-Mobile G2 will be their first HSPA+ handset when it launches later this year. The device has a theoretical max throughput of 14.4 Mbps, which is faster than the 10 Mbps that is being advertised by Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network.

It looks like T-Mobile will continue to refer to their HSPA+ as 3G in the near future, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they eventually brand it 4G. We know it’s just a marketing term, so if the other carriers are going to boast 4G then so should T-Mobile.

T0 see if your city has T-Mobile’s HSPA+, please visit http://t-mobile-coverage.t-mobile.com/coverage

Show Press Release

T-Mobile statement:

Today, T-Mobile USA, Inc. announced the continued expansion of its super-fast mobile broadband network to 100 million Americans in more than 55 major metropolitan areas.

T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network – which offers theoretical peak throughput speeds of 21Mbps – is now available in Boston, Mass.; Erie, Penn.; Fresno, Palm Springs and San Diego, Calif.; Miami, Fla.; Richmond, Va.; Spokane, Wash.; and Topeka, Kan.

“Our new network offers today’s available 4G speeds to more people than any other wireless network in the country and we’re not done yet. We are now on pace to more than double our HSPA+ footprint – reaching more than 200 million people by this year – with plans to offer 42Mbps theoretical speeds in 2011,” said Neville Ray, chief network officer for T-Mobile USA.

For more information, please visit http://t-mobile-coverage.t-mobile.com/coverage.

Source: T-Mobile

Most Tweeted This Week

White Nexus 4 and Android 4.3 coming June 10th

Updated: HTC employee teases Google Experience HTC One

Google updating Android without updating Android is the biggest news out of I/O 2013

30 Comments Join the discussion!

YsleiroGuest 08/31/10 1:47 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
Gotta love T-Mo. If you stay within their coverage no other carrier (only Sprint comes close) can match them on pricing.

I don’t have an HSPA+ device but I’ve already seen 5 Mbps down on my Nexus.

Reply
- anonGuest 08/31/10 1:58 PM
  
  Thumb up Thumb down 0
  HSPA+ is backwards compatible. You’re nexus should be able to get those speeds.
  
  Reply
  - Mista2xGuest 08/31/10 2:39 PM
    
    Thumb up Thumb down 0
    I’m only getting upper 4s on my nexus one since the hspa+ hit austin, tx, but it still beats normal 3g.
    
    Reply
  - 0 Tebbe 08/31/10 2:42 PM
    
    Thumb up Thumb down 0
    I think current HSPA phones will only support up to 7.2Mbps. They won’t get the full HSPA+ speed, but they will likely improve over what they are currently getting. Basically, the device becomes the bottleneck instead of the network.
    
    Reply
- GeeGuest 08/31/10 3:42 PM
  
  Thumb up Thumb down 0
  Close? I think Sprint is better. More coverage for one, then add better pricing. You can get a $59.99 EPRP plus $10 4G add on with unlimited data, texts, and mobile to mobile. If you’re on a family plan or decide to forgo the EPRP plan for the reg ($69.99+$10 = $79.99), you can get yearly upgrades.
  
  Sprint/Clear just need to 1) build WiMax Coverage, 2) up the caps close to it’s theoretical limits (70+ Mbps), or 3) Upgrade to WiMax 2 for 140 Mbps goodness.
  
  Reply
  - DaveCGuest 08/31/10 9:45 PM
    
    Thumb up Thumb down 0
    Very good point on pricing. If you want a five-phone family plan with everyone on smart phones, no one (T-Mobile included) can touch Sprint’s pricing.
    
    Reply
DrillaGuest 08/31/10 1:52 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
Now if only T-Mo could ship some decent Android handsets! Vibrant works but gets killed by the Galaxy S offerings on the other networks.

Reply
- JDeaGuest 08/31/10 2:50 PM
  
  Thumb up Thumb down 0
  The G2 is coming out which should be a decent android phone, ready for the new network upgrade as well
  
  Reply
- 0 dezvous 08/31/10 3:11 PM
  
  Thumb up Thumb down 0
  Epic 4g is the only one that’s really any different, and I love how slim the Vibrant is, have no desire for a qwerty keyboard having used the on-screen with zero problems.
  
  Sure the front facing camera is a cool novelty especially when it’s only VGA and I can’t imagine myself using video calls nearly ever. The only time I could think of it being cool would be to show someone where you are, like if you were at the grand canyon or something and you can still do that.
  
  The lack of a flash is stupid though, it just seems like something EVERY phone should have now.
  
  Reply
  - BGuest 08/31/10 3:29 PM
    
    Thumb up Thumb down 0
    The lack of a flash is a little mind boggling, but have you seen the night mode pictures? It looks better than a flash in some cases, especially if we’re talking about LED flash.
    
    Reply
    - 0 dezvous 09/01/10 3:15 AM
      
      Thumb up Thumb down 0
      No I haven’t seen any yet but I’ve heard they’re pretty great. I think I’ll give it a try on my Vibrant right now actually seeing as it’s 1 am.
      
      Reply
- 0 Haulngas 08/31/10 7:32 PM
  
  Thumb up Thumb down 0
  Huh? You must of not have noticed the Vibrant is also a Galaxy S series phone, and was the first to hit the U.S. market..
  
  Reply
2 anakin78z 08/31/10 2:12 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
So can anyone in LA actually get a constant HSPA+ connection? I feel like I get a hint of it every now and then, but I’m not experiencing any regular blazing speeds (every now and then something DOES download really fast, which makes me realize that all the other times, things don’t).

Reply
KimboGuest 08/31/10 3:01 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
@Anakin78z, you shouldn’t be able to get HSPA+ unless you have an actual HSPA+ phone, and I’m guessing you don’t (unless you got a G2 early somehow). If your phone is just HSPA then it’s limited to a max of ~7.

Reply
- OskarGuest 08/31/10 3:26 PM
  
  Thumb up Thumb down 0
  Even if anakin doesn’t have a hspa+ phone she should still see faster speeds constantly…unless anakin is located somewhere with a bit of poor coverage or maybe inside their home
  
  Reply
  - 2 anakin78z 08/31/10 8:36 PM
    
    Thumb up Thumb down 0
    Yea, not to rehash what everyone’s already said, but I should be seeing speeds in the 3-4′s on my N1, and I’m only getting that every now and then. My thinking is that even though they turned it on in LA, coverage is sparse, and I’m not getting much of it on the westside, so as awesome as HSPA+ is in theory, unless they get better coverage, it’s only a tease over here.
    If anyone else in LA has had better luck, I’d like to hear about it.
    
    Reply
0 nate 08/31/10 3:32 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
FINALLY the announce boston. a very tech friendly city

Reply
geneGuest 08/31/10 4:00 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
“The T-Mobile G2 will be their first HSPA+ handset when it launches later this year. The device has a theoretical max throughput of 14.4 Mbps, which is faster than the 10 Mbps that is being advertised by Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network.”

Maybe someone a little more up on network infrastructure can enlighten me on this one. It sounds like from this statement that the upcoming HSPA+ phones still won’t be able to fully utilize the existing HSPA+ network, let alone the upcoming 42 Mbps network configuration. Doesn’t this mean that early HSPA+ adapters are going to be stuck with a slightly better bottleneck until they come out with a phone capable of using the full theoretical bandwidth of the network? I was thinking about upgrading from my Nexus One to one of the new HSPA+ phones coming out this year, but if I’m just trading for a better bottleneck, then I might just stick it out until a phone with a better throughput capacity comes out. I’d like to get a phone I can stomach living with for 2 years for once! :)

Reply
FutureboyGuest 08/31/10 4:06 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
New York and LA, but no Chicago? (yet) What gives? Hell, even Milwaukee, WI and Bentonville, AR are live! No disrespect to Bentonville, but all I have to say is… whaaaaa??????

Reply
ChancyGuest 08/31/10 4:28 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
Archos reveals five new Android tablets for fall

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20015224-1.html#ixzz0yDmbIyt9l

Reply
NickGuest 08/31/10 5:22 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
Why is T-Mobile advertising the G2 so heavily as a “revolutionary” HSPA+ phone when it will barely even be able to take advantage of the speeds? Sure, it can handle double what current phones can, but if they’re upgrading their network to support a max of 42Mbps, why aren’t they making the G2 support that, or at least the current of 21Mbps?

Reply
dcboyGuest 08/31/10 5:38 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
I noticed the speed did double in my area, no need to wait just move to South Orange and feel the speed.

Reply
Jak CrowGuest 08/31/10 6:42 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
They need to stop talking about HSPA+ and actually bring 7.2Mbps to the S.F. bay area. I haven’t seen a single download above 1Mbps.

Reply
RaptorGuest 08/31/10 6:44 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
T-mo are very tricky bastards with very smart strategy.

First, they do not publicize that they do not charge for the tethering. That alone saves you $30*24=$720 per 2 years contract compared to some competition.

Then they hiddenly without much noise&fanfare deployed faster 3G in many cities which beats others. And with HSPA+ …what the damn trickmeisters… Do you think they actually deployed HSPA+ in these only cities they mention on their press releases? Check on occasions your and neighbor city more carefully, you may find they have other spots with HSPA+ in hundreds of others not listed, no matter are they large or small. I found that driving around and using SpeedTest app on my Android phone. I literally had the same surprise like Bonnie Cha of Cnet testing networks in NY

http://cnettv.cnet.com/testing-cell-phone-data-speeds-new-york/9742-1_53-50090183.html

Reply
2 unforgiven512 08/31/10 6:53 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
Hell yeah, HSPA+ in Erie, PA!

It was great watching it go from EDGE to basic UMTS (3G) to a couple of the cell sites being HSPA+ and then all the cell sites being HSPA+ then finally the official press release!

Thank you T-Mobile. You have 2 loyal customers right here!

Reply
jayy336Guest 08/31/10 7:27 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
So If T-Mobile is planning on upgrading HSPA+ to 42mbps next year, I’m guessing we’ll be seeing much better phones then too?? I sure hope so.

Now they should work on getting better coverage.

Reply
MarioGuest 08/31/10 7:29 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
I just went from At&t to T-mobile when my contract ended and got the one cent Vibrant but the coverage here is horrible. I’m about 15-20 miles outside of Atlanta, GA. I still have my At&t phone and I’ve been comparing signal and everywhere I go I have 4-5 bars with At&t when my Vibrant is only showing 1 or 2 if I’m lucky. The phone is phenomenal but it looks like I’m going to have to return it and get the upgrade for the captivate. The speeds don’t mean much at all to me because no one will ever achieve over 10Mbps consistently if ever and i don’t use the internet that heavily.

Reply
Lithium98Guest 08/31/10 10:44 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
Seriously? The heart of the tech world, the silicon valley is not getting any love from globule. It’s killing me!

Reply
permisGuest 09/16/11 5:40 AM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
I want to alert you that I’m using IE8 on Windows Vista and your content is curiously right aligned. I cleared my web browser cache, but it doesn’t seem to have any sort of impact. Assuredly a cross browser css positioning problem.

Reply
Mobile Phone AdaptersGuest 11/23/11 12:35 PM

Thumb up Thumb down 0
Thanks , I have just been looking for information approximately this subject for ages and yours is the greatest I’ve came upon till now. However, what concerning the conclusion? Are you certain concerning the supply?|What i do not realize is in reality how you’re no longer really a lot more well-appreciated than you may be right now. You’re very intelligent.

Reply

Android and Me

Google reveals Samsung Galaxy S 4 Nexus Edition

Android passes 900 million devices activated

Best no-contract plans for unlocked Android devices

Best unlocked Android phone for any budget

T-Mobile expands HSPA+ network, plans to double speeds

Most Tweeted This Week

White Nexus 4 and Android 4.3 coming June 10th

Updated: HTC employee teases Google Experience HTC One

Google updating Android without updating Android is the biggest news out of I/O 2013