T-Mobile rolls out 21 Mbps HSPA+ in Philadelphia
T-Mobile just kicked it up a notch and became the first carrier in the US to deploy HSPA+ on its 3G network. As we already knew, the nation’s number four carrier plans to offer HSPA+ as an interim upgrade while it begins the slow transition over to LTE. Currently, folks in the City of Brotherly Love are the fortunate few who can enjoy the 21 Mbps speeds that HSPA+ theoretically delivers. Only time will tell what kind of speeds we actually see on T-Mo’s HSPA+ network but one thing is practically guaranteed: it should be a hell of a lot faster than the carrier’s current 3G network. If you are not within the range of the twenty active HSPA+ cell towers now rocking in Philly, be patient as T-Mobile plans to expand the service to additional markets throughout 2010.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
I’m pretty sure this is just a software upgrade for their cabinets, and they’re probably using DS3’s going to them.
It’s fun and all, but that kind of backbone isn’t available in all areas. Adding 3G requires adding antennas and other construction, this just requires some minor backbone work.
Ummmm… T-mobile should get there 3G coverage taken care of first before doing HSPA or anything higher. Tmobile lacks 3G coverage and very spotty. Not even all major cities are covered. Finish your 3G then move on… There’s not even 3G in Oklahoma city..
Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).
SOooo *HOTT*** ; D
HSPA+ should benefit all, as not only will the backend (hopefully) be upgraded to support the higher speeds, but HSPA+ is also more efficient with spectrum, meaning that there should be more capacity, period. Maybe if T-Mobile had a 3G footprint that was bigger than a postage stamp, this would be a big deal…
Good shit T-Mo.. Very proud of you for stepping that up.. now if we could just get that in the Chi..
Hopefully they blanket the rest of SoCal before they spread themselves out with “upgrading” what they barely even have.
Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone) at: Baldwin Park North America
St. Louis does have T-mobile 3G. I live downtown and have great 3G reception with decent speeds.
So many cheerleaders for every team. Freaking pathetic. Why are you all talking about shitty 3G coverage? THEY’RE STILL DEPLOYING TOWERS. Did you expect the entire country to be blanketed when 3G only launched a year ago, in one area? Stop being geeks, crying about who’s pocket protector is bigger. Deploying HSPA towers on a limited basis right now is nothing but good for T-Mobile’s customers. It means they are preparing for the future. Everyone complained about how late they were to 3G, but now we get complaints about why they’re doing this instead of working on 3G coverage. Again, pathetic. 3G is very much a current priority. They are just bridging the gap, and keeping up with the competition in a much more proactive fashion than in the past.
Zomg the germans are taking over!
This is all great for the time being, but i mean what are they going to really do with LTE?? AT&T and verizon basically own 700 mhz spectrum. Which is the perfect spectrum for a technology like LTE. ATT has enough to cover 88 % of the country and verizon 100%. How the hell is T-mo going to catch up? what do they have the can honestly compete with LTE on that kind of spectrum that they don’t have? When you have verizon CEO’s and AT&T CEO’s claiming they are happy with their spectral positions, you know the smaller guys are screwed.
Hmm. When did they hit Phila with this? Saturday the 19th maybe they were doing some work and that’s why there was no GPRS coverage driving thru Phila on I95? This is not the first time they’ve disrupted existing service when ‘upgrading’. My New Jersey neighborhood lost Edge coverage for almost a year after, what seemed awfully obvious to me on the DAY they lit up 3g for Phila, a local tower was upgraded and some idiot knocked against or repositioned a GPRS antenna. NOBODY at TMo believed this or did a thing about it, despite my reports. Finally, about 8 months later, by chance, someone corrected it. The most fun was trying to tell the CS reps what “E” and “G” meant when showing on a Dash.
Great that they launched in Philly, but why waste the resources to light up 21mbps and not 7.2 or 14 first. Total waste of their resources, and the coverage is still very poor. TMO did this just for the press, to compete with ATT’s full deployment of 7.2 next year. Remember, TMO specializes in ringtones and wallpaper bling, They have never been known for the quality of their network.
@e, Tmobile has enough spectrum. They can use their aws spectrum for lte.
@ John: ATT has never been known for quality either. They are known however for being more expensive and the sole carrier of the iPhone in the US.
I don’t need to remind you how many network related complaints ATT has from users all over the place.
But you probably work for ATT so I wouldn’t expect you to say anything else?
T-Mobile is playing catchup, but in a huge way. The majority of their network should be 3G overlayed by early next year if not sooner. HSPA is also much more efficient at handling call volume and improving call quality if deployed right.
What phones are compatible…
I’m in Philly and an unhappy AT&T subscriber (using an unlocked Nokia E75)and would like to test this out.
would be nice if they’d actually roll out more significant markets. being in albuquerque w/t-mobile sort of sucks at this point.
Its makes sense to implement the HSPA+ 3g as they expand the network.
I live in philly, but sadly I do not use T mobile…
Constant 2100Kbps download? Where at? I’ve gotten up to 2300Kbps on AT&T on my iPhone, but only once. I never get less than 1500Kbps and frequently hit 2000Kbps, but my average is probably around 1700-1800Kbps.
I live in Covington, LA, BTW. On the opposite side of the lake from New Orleans.
Duh, you guys are idiots. Ha, it is obvious you have no sense of knowledge in the world of technology. furthermore, when it includes buisness.
now, T-Mobile, aha best company ever no doubt. Will soon be the #1 network. It will of course start off by knocking att out of its place taking, n compete with vw in 4G networks for like a year or so n take its place, as thee best! duh.
ok, for starters. yeah philly may be only one launch. but see how many 3G launches they’ve had this year thusfar. that the less. they plan on having all areas HSPA 7.2mbps meanwhile launching more HSPA+ next year.
think about it, first 3G launches were last year in October. within a year from that they’ve made their first HSPA+ launch! what kinda shitt is that!? its greatnesss.
salt lake right now should be getting 3G tonight as we speak:) im excited. & to know within a year from that i could be HSPA+ is greatnesss!
you cant compete that att. can you!
yeah yeah yeah, LTE blah blah blah.
everyone’s been saying that and look, nothing.
suppose sprint’s already released it, but its speeds completely suck. almost EDGE-like.
therefore thusfar, t-mobile is the best.
let’s put it this way, quality is better than mere words.
that’s the problem all networks now a days.
they’re all talk 85% of the time.
t-mobile is taking a different route, they’re taking it pace by pace.
working on themselves. &timing is right!
with time, comes better quality.
they have a master plan dont you see.
TEAM T-MOBILE.
(T-Mobile customers, remain hopeful and faithful to your carrier please. We all know, it may be a bit jittery to have to wait. but trust me, with time comes good things. St. Louis, I no doubt know you will be getting 3G soon:)
just be a lil patient)
W00T!
We have spen millions of dollars upgrading our cell sites for 3G. We continue to make the upgrades in the more rural areas even as we plan for this huge push. It’s not bringing a DS3 to a cell site. It is a partnership with AT&T for an enhanced “pipe” if you will. I can’t go into specifics because of proprietary legalaties. But rest assured, this new role out will blow customers away!
I see a lot of people complaining because of no 3g service. But if you are a superior New Yorker, which always gets what it wants in terms of services, do you really have to worry? I think I will be THE first major market where HSPA+ will roll out and will be able to enjoy it, do I need to worry about the rest of the small, insignificant towns that will not have it?