Good news for T-Mobile subscribers. According to a leaked internal document obtained by TMO News, it appears the other GSM carrier here in the States is finally getting ready to launch its own honest to goodness 3-G network on Thursday -- kind of. The document names NYC as ground zero with more than 20 other major cities and markets that will also get 3-G'd by the end of the year.
The catch (and it's a big one) is that T-Mobile subscribers will be getting a decidedly feeble 3-G at first. Part of the memo points out that initial offerings will be voice only. So while 3-G in name, for all your data needs, you'll still be relying on sluggardly EDGE.
While some industry insiders have pointed out that this is in line with how other carriers launched their own 3-G networks, the simple fact may be that T-Mobile doesn't have enough 3-G phones to justify the data play just yet. Still, it seems rather odd to make a big announcement like this and then qualify it by admitting the only worthwhile part of the new service won't be available to customers until later in the year. Why not just hold off?
According to a T-Mobile spokesperson, the carrier's UMTS (3-G) network will utilize the 1700/2100 MHz bands, as opposed to AT&T's 850/1900 MHz 3-G bands.
Previously, the carrier said it would spend an estimated $10.3 billion between 2007 and 2009 for 2G and 3G network deployments.
T-Mobile was the big winner of the 2006 Advance Wireless Services (AWS) auction -- bringing home over $4.2 billion worth of spectrum. Unfortunely, waiting for the government to vacate that spectrum seems to have also been the major reason for the 3-G delay.
Photo courtesy of TMO News
