T-Mobile
continued to roll out its "4G-like" HSPA+ network today to
a bevy of new markets, much
to the chagrin of AT&T.
With
the addition of Los Angeles; Dallas; Atlanta; Houston; Seattle;
Tampa and Orlando, Fla.; Pittsburgh; Charlotte, Greensboro, and
Winston-Salem, N.C.; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla.; New Orleans; and
Charleston, S.C.; Bentonville, Ark.; Anderson, S.C.; and
Fayetteville, N.C., to its roster of HSPA+ markets, T-Mobile's
high-speed network now covers 25 major metropolitan areas across the
country, the company stated
in a press release.
"T-Mobile
has rolled out HSPA+ service to more than 25 major metropolitan areas
in four month’s time, as we drive towards having the most pervasive
mobile broadband network delivering 4G speeds in the country,"
said Neville Ray, senior vice president of Engineering and Operations
for T-Mobile USA in the press release.
The
nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier plans to implement the
technology in 100 major metros and cover 185 million Americans by the
end of the year. It is important to note that the number of people
covered does not correlate to quality of coverage, particularly with
a technology like HSPA+, which fluctuates based on individual users'
proximity to the towers.
HSPA+
isn't exactly 4G technology -- like Sprint's
WiMax and Verizon's
LTE -- but rather an upgrade to 3G that delivers what
T-Mobile calls "4G speeds" to consumers with HSPA+ devices,
like the MyTouch Slide or the webConnect Jet Laptop
Stick. HSPA+ offers
theoretical downlink speeds of up to 56 Mbps and uplink speeds of up
to 22 Mbps.
Earlier
this month, Phone
Scoop conducted
an independent test pitting Sprint's WiMax network against
T-Mobile's HSPA+. "T-Mobile's upgraded HSPA+ network is worth a
hard look. HSPA+ is just as fast as WiMAX for downloads, and much
faster when it comes to upload and latency,"Phone
Scoop concluded.
With
the exception of Sprint, whose WiMAX network is still pretty spotty,
T-Mobile is the only other major wireless carrier in the U.S. that
currently provides anything that even resembles 4G.
An
AT&T spokesperson previously told us that his company plans
to beef
up its existing 3G network before upgrading to HSPA+ and
ultimately LTE, Verizon has said it plans to have three to five
handsets compatible with what will most likely be tiered
data service on its LTE network by next year.
