Looks like today should be a nice day to wake up to if you live in one of the cities listed below and have any of the phones pictured above. No picture of the Samsung Vibrant, but it is mentioned in the press release, so have no fear.
Austin, El Paso, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Waco, Texas
Baltimore, Md.
Baton Rouge and Lafayette, La.
Birmingham, Ala.
Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton, Ohio
Ft. Lauderdale and Jacksonville, Fla.
Greenville, S.C.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Indianapolis, Ind.
Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo.
Milwaukee, Wis.
Minneapolis, Minn.
Portland, Ore.
and Wichita, Kan.
These are all the locations launching HSPA+ today. Currently the update will cover 16 current makes and models of phones sold by T-Mobile. Although none of the devices out are TRUE HSPA+ devices, you will still notice a data speed increase. They also expanded the HSPA+ coverage in some of the locations where it was already launched.
In the press release below they mention the Vibrant as being able to take advantage of the new speeds and something about a new phone this summer. That should be interesting. The Vanguard maybe? Who knows. With T-Mobile playing catch up on the so called 4G service, their plans to have 185 million customers covered by the end of the year is pretty comforting. I wouldn’t mind just getting 3G in my area. Especially since I live in a town with a T-Mobile Corporate Owned call center. Go figure.
To all you lucky people waking up to this news this morning, test out your data with the speedtest.net application which you can get below. Then reboot your phone and test again. Hopefully you will see an increase in speeds. If not, then your phone may have already made the connection to the HSPA+ service. Good luck to you all. Let us know if you see a big difference.
Source: Tmonews
Official Press Release:
T-Mobile® HSPA+ Network now delivers broadest reach of 4G speeds in U.S.
Customers also will benefit from speed boosts on 16 of T-Mobile’s available 3G devices and
expanded availability of mobile broadband products in nearly 50 markets
BELLEVUE, Wash.—July 21, 2010 — Today, T-Mobile USA, Inc. announced the continued expansion of its super-fast mobile broadband network to more than 85 million Americans—the most pervasive network to offer 4G speeds1 in the country.T-Mobile® is on track to deliver HSPA+ speeds in 100 major metropolitan areas with backhaul in place, covering 185 million people in the U.S. by the end of this year.Now HSPA+ network service is available in nearly 50 major metropolitan areas across the country, with the newest additions including Austin, El Paso, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Waco, Texas; Baltimore, Md.; Baton Rouge and Lafayette, La.; Birmingham, Ala.; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton, Ohio; Ft. Lauderdale and Jacksonville, Fla.; Greenville, S.C.; Honolulu, Hawaii; Indianapolis, Ind.; Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Portland, Ore.; and Wichita, Kan. In addition, T-Mobile has expanded coverage in cities in previously announced metropolitan areas including Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C. 4G speeds are now available for customers in Alexandria, McLean and Reston, Va.; Anaheim, Burbank, Glendale,Irvine, Long Beach, and Ontario, CA; Annapolis, Bethesda and Chevy Chase, Md.; and Asheville and Hickory, N.C.
In addition, 16 of T-Mobile’s current 3G devices, including more than a dozen smartphones,2 can benefit from enhanced speeds when they’re on the super-fast HSPA+ network in all of these major metropolitan areas, including the newest smartphone available from T-Mobile—the Samsung Vibrant. And later this summer, T-Mobile will unveil its first HSPA+-capable smartphone. More details will be available in the coming weeks.
“T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network now offers 4G speeds to more people than any other wireless network in the country,†said Neville Ray, chief network officer for T-Mobile USA. “The aggressive pace of our HSPA+ network rollout means our customers can enjoy a better mobile broadband experience on more devices in more places today—but we’re not done yet. Our first HSPA+ smartphone is coming soon and our footprint will double between now and the end of the year.â€
Complementing the network expansion is wider availability of the T-Mobile® webConnect® broadband products in T-Mobile retail stores in all HSPA+ areas including the webConnect Rocketâ„¢ USB Laptop Stick, the first HSPA+-capable device from a national U.S. wireless carrier and the Dellâ„¢ Inspironâ„¢ Mini 10 with T-Mobile webConnect, T-Mobile’s first netbook.
Also beginning today, T-Mobile is introducing the webConnect Rocket 2.0 USB Laptop Stick, an updated form factor of its first HSPA+-capable device. Featuring a new rotating swivel USB form factor, the webConnect Rocket 2.0 is designed to deliver the same home broadband experience on the go as its predecessor, so customers can surf the Web, download large files or watch video from a laptop anytime on-the-go with a blazing-fast connection. The webConnect Rocket 2.0 enables customers to take full advantage of T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network in areas where the service is available—delivering 4G speeds.
T-Mobile network service is currently available in the following major metropolitan areas: Albany, N.Y.; Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Baltimore; Baton Rouge, La.; Birmingham, Ala.; Buffalo, N.Y.; Charleston, S.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus, OH; Dallas/Ft. Worth; Dayton, Ohio; El Paso, Texas; Fayetteville, N.C.; Ft Lauderdale, Fla.; Greensboro, N.C.; Greenville, S.C.; Hartford, Conn.; Honolulu; Houston; Indianapolis; Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tenn.; Milwaukee, Wis.; Minneapolis, Minn.; New Orleans, La.; New York; Oklahoma City; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore.; Providence, R.I.; Rochester, N.Y.; San Antonio; Seattle; St. Louis, Mo; Syracuse, N.Y.; Tampa, Fla.; Tulsa, Okla.; Waco, Texas; Washington, D.C.; and Wichita, Kan. The HSPA+ network expansion is on track to reach 100 metro areas by year end.
For more information, please visit http://t-mobile-coverage.t-mobile.com/coverage.
