Operator says 55 markets will get theoretical 42Mbps speeds this month
T-Mobile has announced that it is doubling the speed of its mobile broadband network and that it intends to deliver up to 42Mbps theoretical download speeds to customers in 55 markets this month.
Among the markets to soon get the hefty boost are Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland and San Francisco. These metro areas join three markets in which the carrier already announced the high-speed support in March: Las Vegas, New York and Orlando.
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The operator also said that it is making available a laptop stick starting tomorrow that allows users’ computers to take advantage of the bigger bandwidth. The T-Mobile Rocket 3.0 retails for about $100 after a $50 mail-in rebate. It reportedly is equipped with built-in T-Mobile Connection Manager software that helps users manage their monthly data usage and automatically finds the best available network service, whether it’s a T-Mobile 4G, 3G or Wi-Fi network.
The company says it plans to deliver a total of 25 4G-capable devices in 2011 and expects 140 million Americans to have access to the up-to 42Mbps theoretical bandwidth by mid-2011.
T-Mobile describes the soon-to-be-upgraded HSPA+ network segments as “twice as fast” as its existing HSPA+ infrastructure. However, the carrier refers to the whole kit and caboodle as a “4G” network. This can be a bit confusing, given that not all network segments have equal capacity. T-Mobile has to call its network service something, and “4G” is as good a name as any; just don’t mistake the name to mean that 4G is 4G is 4G.
From the company’s 4G fact sheet, published March 10, for example:
“T-Mobile’s 4G network is capable of delivering theoretical peak download speeds of up to 21Mbps — and is up to three times faster than of [sic] today’s standard 3G networks. … Testing on T-Mobile’s original 4G phones showed download speeds approaching 5Mbps in some cities & [sic] peak speeds of nearly 12Mbps.”
Now, two months later, the 4G speeds have jumped to a theoretical 42Mbps in some areas. In other words, “4G” on the T-Mobile network can mean a variety of speeds, depending on where you are and what sort of access device you are using.
