55 Markets get LTE coverage

[John Jason]

According to this article T-Mobile USA is turning on the switch today for full 42 Mbps LTE speeds in 55 markets:

Latest News | T-Mobile | America?s Largest 4G Network Now Twice as Fast in More Than 50 New Markets

What is unclear is whether you need a special "LTE" 4G phone to get the faster speeds, or if any T-Mobile 4G phone will work. I'm in one of the markets, but I don't have a 4G phone.

There was also an article in the financial news yesterday claiming that T-Mobile was breathing down Verizon's neck in deploying full LTE. The author of the article tested the new modem in Manhattan and got speeds roughly the same as Verizon's LTE speeds.

Does anyone know anything about this?

 

[colnago]

Nothing should be "unclear", as it specifically states that the modem is the first 42Mbps device. In order for a phone to acheive those speeds, its "HSPA" (not LTE, as T-Mo is not using LTE) radio has to be rated at that speed. Most "4G/HSPA+" phones on T-Mo's site have their respctive speed rating listed. I have the new Sensation phone, and even though its a 4G device, I believe it is only capable of 10Mbps or 14Mbps speeds.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

The lowest rating for a "4G" phone is 14.4 Mbps. That's still a good speed.

 

[alostpacket]

Yep this was always the plan pre-merger talks. T-mo had plenty of spectrum for 42mbps HSPA+

Now the spin doctors from AT&T and T-mo are claiming spectrum crunch in order to push through the deal, and they are talking like LTE is the only high speed tech out there.

Here's what T-mo used to say about HSPA vs LTE (really worth a read if you have the time)
T-Mobile USA CTO Disses AT&T, LTE and WiMAX — Tech News and Analysis


And you can guess what they say now.

 

[John Jason]

The lowest rating for a "4G" phone is 14.4 Mbps. That's still a good speed.

All I know is that I am in one of the markets where the new 42 Mbps speed is supposedly available, yet friends with 4G phones (including the Sensation) report absolutely no speed improvement. In fact, I went to a T-Mobile store the other day and tried out all the 4G phones. None ever got even as high as 4 Mbps down. And standing in front of the display my MyTouch 3G phone got consistently over 3 Mbps down.

So apparently the improvement is of no benefit to smartphones until new models come out.

 

[alostpacket]

42 is theoretical max if I remember correctly. Wheras LTE theoretical Max is somelike 100mbps(?). But no one is even close to the max on those technologies yet.

Supposedly you *should* be getting in the 7-10(?)mbps range, and even Verizon Thunderbolt users are generally getting in the 5-20 range max.

All of this is fast enough to stream video considering the resolution of phones. But it's so inconsistent with signal strength on any network and kills battery so hard, it just isnt really super worth it.

I'd personally be happy with a consistent 2-4mbps and 75-100ms ish latency. That's one of the other killers. Latency and lost packets...

 

[colnago]

All I know is that I am in one of the markets where the new 42 Mbps speed is supposedly available, yet friends with 4G phones (including the Sensation) report absolutely no speed improvement. In fact, I went to a T-Mobile store the other day and tried out all the 4G phones. None ever got even as high as 4 Mbps down. And standing in front of the display my MyTouch 3G phone got consistently over 3 Mbps down.

So apparently the improvement is of no benefit to smartphones until new models come out.

Again, as of today, the only device T-Mo has, which is capable of 42Mbps, is the new USB modem.

 

[John Jason]

Again, as of today, the only device T-Mo has, which is capable of 42Mbps, is the new USB modem.

Yes, you keep saying that. I am not interested in 42 Mbps. I am aware that the only device "capable of 42Mbps, is the new USB modem." I was merely curious if the increase is supposed to make any difference at all for existing 4G phones, even if it is only a tiny improvement. It seems that it ought to, but in practice it doesn't seem to.

 

[colnago]

It would depend on tower congestion, back haul capability, one's proximity, and level of interference to the tower. FWIW, I'm now getting just over 6Mbs with my Sensation at my house, where I was once only able to get 4Mbs with my N900 (N900 maxed at 7.44Mbs when near local tower, 3 miles away).