T-Mobile’s 4G-Like HSPA+ Extends Along East Coast

T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, said to deliver 4G speeds, has expanded to new coverage areas along the East Coast, the carrier announced May 24.
In addition to New York City, New Jersey and Long Island, T-Mobile’s HSPA+ now includes New York cities Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse; Hartford, New Haven, Milford and Stamford in Connecticut ; and Providence, R.I.
According to T-Mobile, its HSPA+ network achieves theoretical peak download speeds of 21M bps, accessible on more than a dozen of the carrier’s devices, including the T-Mobile webConnect Rocket Laptop Stick.
The T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide and the Garminfone – which were introduced May 12 and are scheduled to arrive in June – will also be able to benefit from 4G speeds.
“Our competitors are asking consumers to pay more for faster wireless service with limited coverage and very few capable devices,” Neville Ray, senior vice president of engineering and operations for T-Mobile, said in a statement. “In contrast, T-Mobile is already delivering 4G speeds today to customers, and we continue to make major leaps in expanding our HSPA+ mobile broadband footprint.”
T-Mobile competitors Verizon Wireless and AT&T each have plans to roll out 4G networks using LTE (long-term evolution) technology, while Sprint currently offers 4G through Clearwire, which uses WiMax technology.
Eventually, T-Mobile plans to migrate to LTE. Though according to a report from the Financial Times, the carrier has spoken with Clearwire about potentially offering 4G through WiMax, as well as hedge fund Harbinger Capital, which has plans to deploy LTE.
For now, however, T-Mobile’s HSPA+ mobile broadband network covers more than 30 million people, and the carrier plans to offer 4G speeds in 100 metropolitan areas, covering 185 million people, by the end of 2010.
T-Mobile has experienced a 33 percent increase in smartphone adoption since the end of 2009, and while 5.2 million of its customers currently use 3G-capable devices, its expects that number to reach 8 million by year’s end.