{"id":648950,"date":"2013-03-26T15:49:34","date_gmt":"2013-03-26T19:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gigaom.com\/?p=624536"},"modified":"2013-03-26T15:49:34","modified_gmt":"2013-03-26T19:49:34","slug":"t-mobiles-new-lte-network-is-fast-but-its-going-to-get-a-lot-faster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/648950","title":{"rendered":"T-Mobile\u2019s new LTE network is fast, but it\u2019s going to get a lot faster"},"content":{"rendered":"

T-Mobile is off to a\u00a0good start with\u00a0its nationwide 4G LTE rollout, launching the new mobile broadband service on Tuesday in seven cities<\/a> And judging by all the network testing activities we\u2019ve been seeing lately<\/a> we\u2019re sure to see several more markets go live in the coming months. CEO John Legere called the network \u201csmoking fast,\u201d but the question now is how T-Mobile\u2019s LTE stacks up against the competition in this increasingly crowded 4G market?<\/p>\n

Since the network just went online and it doesn\u2019t have an established user base, it will be several months before we start seeing reliable figures from testing companies like RootMetrics<\/a> or OpenSignal<\/a>, but we can get idea of how T-Mobile\u2019s network will perform based on what we know about the spectrum and the technology its using. As I\u2019ve detailed before, no two LTE networks are created equal<\/a>, and T-Mobile has some advantages that will help its 4G service outpace its competitors.<\/p>\n

A work in progress<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s tackle the spectrum first. T-Mobile is launching in the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) band, using spectrum it has culled from the ongoing reconfiguration of its networks<\/a> as well as the licenses it won from Ma Bell after the AT&T-Mo merger failed<\/a>. That gives it enough to deploy a 20 MHz (that\u2019s 10 MHz upstream and 10 MHz downstream) network in some markets, but only 10 MHz in others.<\/p>\n

To put that in perspective, Verizon Wireless has launched a 20 MHz network nationwide, as has AT&T with a few notable exceptions in certain cities<\/a>. Sprint is building a 10 MHz network nationwide<\/a>. As we\u2019ve seen from Root\u2019s most recent report<\/a>, AT&T\u2019s and Verizon\u2019s now fully loaded LTE networks are averaging between 14 and 18 Mbps on the downlink and between 8 and 9 Mbps on the uplink. Sprint\u2019s half-sized — though relatively new — network is still managing an impressive 10 Mbps down and 4 Mbps up.<\/p>\n

We can expect to see some correlation between those speeds and T-Mobile\u2019s after it loads its new 4G network up with subscribers. But T-Mobile isn\u2019t stopping there.<\/p>\n

\"Mobilize<\/a><\/p>\n

Neville Ray, CTO, T-Mobile (c) 2012 Pinar Ozger pinar@pinarozger.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray refarms more 3G spectrum for LTE, he will be able to boost many of its 10 MHz systems \u00a0to a full 20 MHz, but the real prize comes after it closes its acquisition of MetroPCS (which at this point seems almost a given<\/a>). Surgically\u00a0adding Metro\u2019s AWS spectrum to the current network<\/a> will give it 40 MHz of LTE in some key markets. That\u2019s twice the capacity of the systems currently run by Verizon and AT&T.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it pays to wait<\/h2>\n

As for technology, let\u2019s just say there are some advantages from\u00a0being late to market.<\/p>\n

By virtue of its dallying, T-Mobile is deploying the latest-generation Ericsson and Nokia Siemens base station gear<\/a>. T-Mobile is fond of calling its network \u201cLTE-Advanced ready,\u201d and though the term really is just a marketing conceit<\/a>, there\u2019s a bit of truth in those words. LTE is an iterative technology that improves over time. Because of its relative newness, T-Mobile\u2019s infrastructure will be able to take new LTE upgrades more easily and more cheaply, and as device technology improves, T-Mobile will be able to support next-generation radio chipsets<\/a>\u00a0sooner.<\/p>\n

Technically even T-Mobile\u2019s most modest 10 MHz network could today support a theoretical downlink of 37.5 Mbps (though real-world network speeds would be much less) when connecting to the latest and greatest devices. Once it gets to the 40 MHz networks, however, T-Mobile\u2019s 4G service would\u00a0be truly awe-inspiring, boasting a theoretical ceiling of 150 Mbps.<\/p>\n

Of course, 150 Mbps may seem a bit ridiculous for your typical smartphone user, but the justification for those speeds isn\u2019t to create individual super connections, but to produce more capacity that can be shared by more users. The more data T-Mobile can deliver to a large subset of user, the cheaper it can make data pricing. And making data cheaper is one of the main ways T-Mobile is setting itself apart<\/a> from the competition.<\/p>\n

Feature photo courtesy of Shutterstock<\/a> user Villiers Steyn<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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