UPDATED T-Mobile USA to launch 3G network May 1...for voice only

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Published on: 30 April, 2008 by PhoneArena Team

*UPDATED* T-Mobile USA to launch 3G network May 1...for voice only

This article contains unofficial information.

According to TmoNews, T-Mobile will flip the 3G switch in the NYC market on May 1, also known as tomorrow (or today, or yesterday, etc. if you're reading this from the future!). Austin, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and Miami are the next to be lit up, and by the end of 2008, T-Mobile is planning to cover 20 markets. Right now, the carrier offers four 3G handsets, but we expect that number to increase, now that the technology is actually here. Hit the link for a full list of the cities.

source: TmoNews

Update: Looks like the rollout will be voice only...wait, what? In a memo to Engadget, T-Mobile said "3G is the next generation of our wireless network, following our current GSM network. In this early phase of our network evolution, 3G is a new technology for carrying wireless voice calls and supporting existing data capabilities on our network. In future phases, this next generation network will power 'high-speed' (3G) products and services that connect customers in new and exciting ways. ... Inform customers who are interested in high-speed data that the first phase of our 3G roll out supports voice only."

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1.

anonymous @ 30 April, 2008 05:54:16 PM

doh! haha! its amazing, that all those GSM lovers out there still have to deal with converting to
3g (as in on your pokey EDGE network), as verizon prepares for LTE (faster than your cable modem
folks) and has been 100% evdo (3g) for quite a while now.

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4.

anonymous @ 01 May, 2008 07:50:30 AM

This is a T-Mobile problem, not a GSM problem. AT&T has had 3G for a long time now and is also
committed to LTE--or do you only absorb information that conforms to your skewed vision of reality?

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5.

anonymous @ 01 May, 2008 09:03:54 AM

hey annonymous, ATT is still not 100% 3g. having it and being 100% are 2 different things. Why do
you think they have so many wi-fi phones?? to make up the speed difference... Also, Verizon is
launching LTE up to 3 years faster than ATT. Vodaphone (verizon's parent company) is developing
the technology with partners, ATT is just renting it from us. We'll have it by 2010, you will be
lucky to see it on ATT by 2013. Obviously my reality is less skewed than others.

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9.

anonymous @ 01 May, 2008 03:15:14 PM

That's the best thing about GSM and ATT. Having the freedom of Wi-fi and a phone with 21st century
software. Unlike Verizon which uses the same old 50s sofware for all it's phones. You can't even
download music to it from your computer! Verizon phones all do whatever Verizon wants them to do
NOT what the customers' want. That's why I switched!

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14.

anonymous @ 03 May, 2008 12:49:48 PM

hmm. amazing that i dl all my music right from my computer without a hitch. you need a memory card
for the computer to read it, thats all. wi-fi is strictly to make up the HUGE speed difference in
their old networks to our 100% 3g network. WiFi is a leash, not freedom. its for compensation. id
rather be free to use my internet wherever i want, not have to go 2 starbux, thanx. silly fanboys,
know before you yack!

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2.

burymeinblack @ 30 April, 2008 10:09:58 PM

And yet Sprint leads the way with Rev A and WiMax. And new upcoming networks. Ha! It just seems
funny to me.

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3.

anonymous @ 01 May, 2008 12:01:56 AM

Yet they (Sprint) lose customers and money every quarter. Not to mention it is accepted that Sprint
has the worst customer service in the industry. That's what is funny. and to the idiot talking
about GSM Lovers. LTE is based on GSM and at&t has a 3G network up and going which is faster than
EV-DO.

Do you folks not read?

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6.

vzwemp @ 01 May, 2008 09:07:17 AM

wimax... hmm.. another techonology that will make them bleed out the yingyang. While it will come
out first and give them a little boost, it is slower than LTE, and will only be in large population
centers. It is not going to be a national coverage service like LTE. LTE is not based in GSM, it
is a totally seperate signal which is why both verizon and ATT can use it. GSM/CDMA is voice, LTE
is data.

sprint has by far the worst customer service.. id rather talk to my cable company than sprint!!!!
Its only a matter of time before they bleed to death and Verizon/ATT absorb all the customers.

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8.

burymeinblack @ 01 May, 2008 01:45:56 PM

Yeah. I will admit. Their customer service is the worst, but when you have a more than capable
phone on a more than capable network I think I can deal. Besides. 3G is not faster than EVDO or Rev
A. My Mogul phone next to a AT&T 3G phone isn't a race. It's a slaughter and the Mogul is wearing
the butcher's apron.

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16.

anonymous @ 03 May, 2008 01:54:36 PM

just because a phone is 3g capable does not mean its in 3g area. ATT has very spotty 3g coverage,
unlike verizon who has 100%. I think even sprint has a bigger % of its coverage area in 3g than
ATT, even though both's coveragesa are spotty.

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7.

arredondo @ 01 May, 2008 10:37:53 AM

lol
all good 411
5 years ago a had renewed my sprint contract and what did them dumb inbreads do
they singed me up for two separate bills each month for the same number. idiots
so i sent them to hell.
and now im sending t-mobile too for their sorry signal.

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10.

aufedk @ 01 May, 2008 05:27:54 PM

T-Mobile is the best!!!

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11.

anonymous @ 03 May, 2008 09:14:47 AM

Actually, it is voice AND data. PA just went with what Engadget and BGR claim. Bad tactic.

http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/FREE/686824713/1002/rss01

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17.

Mateo @ 04 May, 2008 12:57:39 PM

And this is NOT voice only...

http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/FREE/686824713/1002/rss01

Shame on your PhoneArena for jumping all over this story just cause Engadget said so. Why not
update the story with the correct info? Or better yet, write a new story.

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18.

Me @ 07 May, 2008 03:43:47 PM

Tmobile is the best! The just acquired Suncom and hopefully they can get up and running on 3G soon.

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