T-mobile is taking this network expansion seriously; they were not joking about reducing roaming costs either http://www.tmonews.com/2012/02/t-mob...ans-posts-faq/ . There has been a large 3G UMTS rollout in the gulf states. Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana have seem large improvements in 3G coverage recently.
This new 3G still very VERY thin (the map is probably over claiming coverage), but it does exist. I'm observing ~400kbps on some of the new rural cells... nothing to write home about. It overlaps GPRS coverage, so there is a sharp cliff there.
Edited for clarity:
I'll note that this is the first time I saw UMTS service without GSM service overlay. This means there are some areas that have 3G UMTS service and do not have 2G GSM service (the green arrows on the map above).
Where are you currently located at in Louisiana and what phone are you using to get 3G access and what do you mean by not using AWS to achieve 3G speeds? I live in Houston Texas and I'm going to be going through there in a month it would be nice to have 3G on my iPhone. Thanks in advance.
Don't get too excited; I'm using a 3G phone to get 3G speeds; no black magic here; no 3G on the PCS band either. iPhones running on 3G are still pie in the sky in Louisiana.
I use a TM506 for 3G UMTS service. I've just noticed the expanded 3G coverage on that phone, saw the updated coverage maps, then announced my findings on the forum.
What I found perplexing (those green arrows) is the new 3G coverage area in the extreme southern portions of the state. There is no 2G service there; this new 3G is the first network presence t-mobile has in those markets. That means that a traditional unlocked GSM phone will not work in those areas; you will need a 3G phone that supports AWS bands (i.e. T-mobile specific phones). It's the first case of a T-mobile "3G Only" coverage area that i could find. T-mobile has always overlapped the 3G on top of their 2G network. I will verify that finding in the coming days.
I guess thats a good thing I will be on I-10 The whole time I'm in the state then and also have a 4G phone just incase. my dad does work in the southern part of the state by houma do you know if that area does indeed have 3G coverage? it would be a bigger incentive to get him to switch XD. They just need a native iPhone now.
Also if u look in northern airizona north of flag staff they have laid out some 3G only area between their and the border where they previously had some 3g and gsm
Houma, LA is still a dismal excuse of a "covered t-mobile market." 7 days ago, there was no 3G, most all the cells are GPRS, and large swaths of the city have little/no coverage.
Maybe t-mobile's coverage maps are premature. They claim 3G coverage in Houma, but it wasnt there 7 days ago...
Also if u look in northern airizona north of flag staff they have laid out some 3G only area between their and the border where they previously had some 3g and gsm
yeah they did that around Wickenburg as well, im assuming T-Mobile is done putting up GPRS/EDGE service (and this would only make sense IMO)
Left: T-Mobile HSPA+ with Amaze 4G, On the right Cox Communications at Home:
They're so random and odd. The 3G I got near Wickenburg made no sense (But the map does hold true there, it IS there.. in the middle of no where)
i am assuming it's the "initial" roll out of 3G there, i'm sure within the next few months there will be a ton more coverage, i remember last year when they launched native EDGE service in southern Ohio. It was in the most random out of the way spot that it barely reach into town, and now almost a year later they've got better service in town than even Verizon that's been the dominant carrier there for some time (through the purchase of Alltel of course)
If you go on there and look at there coverage map they have already made mall updates to it, I was really surprised areas you can see the change in is by Galveston in the bottom left that pink area is now 3G and up between Tyler and Longview the high way 3G connects with the 3G in Henderson
How did you get the map to show the GPRS coverage?
Originally Posted by E_tron
T-mobile is taking this network expansion seriously; they were not joking about reducing roaming costs either http://www.tmonews.com/2012/02/t-mob...ans-posts-faq/ . There has been a large 3G UMTS rollout in the gulf states. Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana have seem large improvements in 3G coverage recently.
This new 3G still very VERY thin (the map is probably over claiming coverage), but it does exist. I'm observing ~400kbps on some of the new rural cells... nothing to write home about. It overlaps GPRS coverage, so there is a sharp cliff there.
Edited for clarity:
I'll note that this is the first time I saw UMTS service without GSM service overlay. This means there are some areas that have 3G UMTS service and do not have 2G GSM service (the green arrows on the map above).
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Originally Posted by jarrodpd
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