Brighthand is reporting what I’ve talked about in the past. T-Mobile now has enough spectrum bandwidth nationwide to proceed with their 3G rollout.
What this means to consumers is cheaper 3G options compared to Cingular, Verizon, & Sprint. T-Mobile has always been priced more competitively than the competition, partially because of being the smallest nationwide operator, but also because of the ability to run more efficiently than the other carriers. They have not had to carry the baggage of extremely large and complex corporate mergers of culture and technology.
Another large factor in the pricing of T-Mobile has been its “reluctance” to be on the cutting edge of wireless technology. For example, their EDGE network has only been online for roughly a year, where Cingular’s EDGE service has been available for nearly two. Allowing the other carriers to bled on the cutting edge, learning from their triumphs and failures, in addition to allowing time for the hardware to come down in pricing has kept T-Mobile competitive.
Will that trend continue now that the company has dropped $4.2 Billion on spectrum – though I must point out that T-Mobile has been budgeting for this spectrum auction, and had estimated a similar amount aver a year ago for Auction 66.
Only time will tell, but it’s exciting, as now all four national carriers have the spectrum to roll out 3G nationwide, and plan for next-generation 4G strategies.
So the latest FCC wireless auction ends after 28 days of intense bidding. T-Mobile did well, gaining significantly needed spectrum across the country.
T-Mobile USA Inc. was the big spender of the auction, winning 120 licenses with bids totaling nearly $4.2 billion. The fourth-largest U.S. carrier gained spectrum across the country, including licenses in the large markets of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. As soon as the auction closed, T-Mobile USA put out a statement saying that it will not immediately reveal its plans for the spectrum.
This is very exciting news for me as a T-Mobile subscriber. While their EDGE data service is great, I can’t wait for 3G data speeds!
CoolSmartPhone.com talks about a free new RSS Reader for Pocket PCs called NewsCopier. With a Smartphone version due to be delivered shortly as well, the vendor, maximumsoft, has a nice product on their hands.
Personally, I use NewsBreak from IliumSoft, and love it. But previous to that I used several freeware products that didn’t reach the mark. This product seems to meet the base needs of the average reader.
So I’ve yet to get the Cable service hooked up yet, and we’ve been using my MDA’s EDGE connection for Internet access. Overall, I’ve been happy with the speeds I get with my EDGE connection, one time peaking at 200kbps – quite fast compared to my old phone’s (Nokia 6600) 40kpbs.
At our new home though, I get about a peak (so far) of around 127kbps, with an upstream of 74kbps. Not too much to brag about, but right in the range that I’ve seen overall for EDGE service from T-Mobile. I can live with this quite well. This is the first real need for this type of connectivity, though I have used my MDA as a modem on many occasions, it was more of a W?BIC.
So I’ve seen the best-case speeds and the average EDGE speeds, and I am happy with the service. I’ve had mobile data service with my phones for at least 3 years, GPRS was a huge improvement over the original 9.6kbps that you could get out of the standard GSM line, and again with EDGE, it is at least a threefold improvement in speed.
Will I upgrade to a UMTS or HSDPA phone when T-Mobile provides service? Yep! The ~400kpbs of UMTS and multi-megabit speeds of HSDPA will be a great experience. Of course, we’ll have to see what the service charges will be, but at the moment, you can’t get a better deal for mobile Internet access than T-Mobile’s unlimited Internet plan ($20 – its called the BlackBerry Internet plan) and for an additional $10, you can add all their WiFi hotspots as well.
Cool stuff – can’t wait for the broadband connection though!
This is a great opportunity if you have ever wanted to be a phone beta tester!
Applicants must work as a professional and be technically savvy. Selected testers will be able to access access e-mail, the Web and even corporate networks on one of the fastest CDMA networks. Users must have a POP e-mail account, or use an Exchange Server. More information and instructions on applying to the beta program can be found on the Centercode Callout.
They are specifically looking for testers in Venezuela and Mexico.
@MAC_Arms Pay taxes when you make your money, pay taxes when you spend your money, pay taxes when you successfully invest your money, pay taxes when you save enough taxed money to afford a house, pay taxes to live in your house, pay taxes when you sell the house that you paid taxes on to
Yup, taxes are criminal and we need serious reforms. I've always said that if you want to see a tax revolt, make withholdings illegal and have Americans write a tax check every payday. They'll revolt for sure. You don't miss what you never had.
Sen. @berniemoreno says voter ID and proof of citizenship are simply common sense.
“We’re talking about a very low threshold — identify who you are and prove you’re a U.S. citizen when you register to vote. I think we’re getting closer to
