T-Mobile launched its first 3G (third-generation) network, in New York, but
customers can't yet use the fastest speeds that the network offers.

Customers can use phones that will let them download data at UMTS (Universal
Mobile Telecommunications System) speeds of as fast as 384K bps (bits per second).
While the network supports HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), which
offers download speeds of around 1M bps, T-Mobile doesn't have any handsets
yet that are compatible with the network. The operator said it plans to offer
its first HSDPA device "in the coming months."

While Cingular Wireless, now AT&T, began selling HSDPA phones in mid-2006,
T-Mobile can't offer customers those phones because the operators' networks
use different spectrum. That means handset manufacturers must tweak their HSDPA
phones that were designed for other operators to work on T-Mobile's network.

T-Mobile has already been selling four phones that will work on the UMTS network.
They include Nokia's 6263 and 3555 and Samsung's t639 and t819.

T-Mobile plans to roll out its 3G network in the top 20 to 25 markets by the
end of the year.

Rather than jump into 3G at the same time as its competitors, T-Mobile has
focused on offering Wi-Fi hotspot services. In its announcement about the New
York 3G launch, T-Mobile reassured customers that it will continue to build
out its hotspot network. It currently has nearly 9,000 hotspots in the U.S.

Launching 3G years later than competitors doesn't necessarily mean that T-Mobile
missed the wireless data opportunity, said one industry analyst. "We are
currently in the first years of a long opportunity," said Jeff Kagan, an
independent telecommunications analyst, by e-mail. If T-Mobile offers quality,
easy-to-use services at the right price, it could be successful, he said.

T-Mobile also offers a service that lets customers use a combined Wi-Fi and
cellular phone. Customers can use the phone to make and receive voice calls
in their homes over a Wi-Fi connection. Using Wi-Fi for calls may offer a higher
quality service than trying to make calls indoors over the wide area cellular
network.

IDG News Service

• Email
• Print
• Share
  • Slashdot
  • Digg
  • Stumble
  • Reddit
  • Newsvine