Verizon’s LTE launches in 6 new markets, now available in nearly 500 U.S. locations

By Christian Zibreg on May 20, 2013

Verizon’s aggressive 4G LTE network roll-out continues unabated. The nation’s leading wireless carrier on Monday announced six new markets getting its speedy fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology today: Durango, Colorado; Corbin and Madisonville, Kentucky; Adrian and Mount Pleasant, Michigan; and Marietta, Ohio.

The carrier, for the first time, released a list of LTE-enabled locations which with today’s additions counts 497 markets, up from 440 locations Verizon claimed last December. The big red carrier’s LTE network is now two and a half years old, for those wondering. If all goes according to plan, Verizon should cover its 3G network entirely with LTE by the middle of this year… Read More

 

Apple close to striking landmark iPhone deal with China Mobile

By Christian Zibreg on May 9, 2013

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty was visiting Hong Kong and Taiwan recently. She is now back from China with some interesting Apple news. Tim Cook & Co., she wrote in her note to clients, may be close to striking an iPhone distribution agreement with China Mobile, the world’s top wireless carrier by revenue and subscribers.

Specifically, Huberty wrote that “TD-LTE licenses, and related phone launches, are expected by year-end,” in her note to clients. China Mobile debuted small-scale TD-LTE network in 2010 and last year expanded coverage to select large cities. In case you were wondering, TD-LTE is a variant of the fourth-generation Long Term Evolution radio technology, also known as LTE… Read More

 

AT&T 4G LTE coverage arrives in Manhattan, Kansas, Sedalia, Warrensburg and Missouri

By Christian Zibreg on May 7, 2013

Having expanded its fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology to include fifteen new markets (and four major U.S. cities before that), the U.S. wireless carrier AT&T has now expanded LTE coverage in five new markets. If you live in Manhattan, Kansas, Sedalia, Warrensburg or Missouri, AT&T’s LTE network should pop up on your LTE devices.

Compared to its third-generation network, AT&T’s 4G LTE offers ten times greater download speeds, always-on functionality, simultaneous talk and surf and other perks… Read More

 

AT&T flips the switch on LTE in 15 new markets

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 30, 2013

After adding five more cities to the list of LTE-covered places and announcing a major expansion of its fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network, the nation’s second-largest wireless carrier AT&T Mobility on Tuesday announced fifteen new LTE markets across ten U.S. states.

If you live in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania or Texas, you could be seeing increased download speeds provided AT&T’s LTE expanded to your area. Go past the fold for the full breakdown… Read More

 

T-Mobile planning to leapfrog LTE competition with 3x faster LTE Advanced

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 23, 2013

T-Mobile is the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the United States and also the furthest behind of the four major telcos in terms of deployment of the fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) cellular technology.

You’ll recall T-Mobile has only begun testing its LTE last month, ahead of its April 12 iPhone distribution deal with Apple.

Right now, T-Mobile has LTE towers in just seven cities and their coverage plans call for 100 million LTE users by the end of the summer and 200 million by the end of the year.

Despite the slow pace of LTE deployment, the carrier thinks it can do better and take its rivals by surprise by deploying LTE Advanced fast, tapping its existing hardware already in place… Read More

 

Sprint, Verizon and AT&T announce major LTE expansion

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 19, 2013

Sprint and AT&T, respectively the nation’s third and second-largest wireless carriers, announced availability of their fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology in new markets. Sprint confirmed its customers in 21 new markets can take advantage of high-speed cellular downloads, including Los Angeles, Contra Costa County, California, Charlotte, North Carolina, Norfolk, Virginia, and Memphis, Tennessee. AT&T on its part announced it has turned on LTE in Florence, Massachusetts, Cushing, Oklahoma and Cheyenne, Wyoming. Verizon flipped the switch on LTE in two new markets… Read More

 

T-Mobile iPhone carrier bundle is now available for download

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 8, 2013

We reported last Friday that T-Mobile had begun deploying a special over-the-air (OTA) update which enables support for its LTE, HD Voice, the 4G indicator, Visual Voicemail and other network-related features on the existing (and unlocked) iPhones the company has been hosting on its network.

But soon after, the Deutsche Telekom-owned wireless carrier pulled a support document highlighting all of the changes that the OTA delivered, leading us to believe it prematurely rolled out the update.

Looks like we were right as it’s just been reported that both Apple and T-Mobile have officially pushed the carrier bundle (IPCC) to enable LTE and other T-Mobile network service on iPhones… Read More

 

14 new markets receive AT&T’s LTE

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 3, 2013

Last time we checked, AT&T’s fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology covered 288 million people in the United States. Today, the telco is flipping the switch on LTE in fourteen new markets as part of its ongoing network expansion, so that number is bound to go up in the following days.

Unfortunately, AT&T (for now) shows no sign of updating its sales policies to match T-Mobile’s new installment payment offering which entices people to buy the iPhone 5 separate of their wireless service for $99 down plus $20 per month over 24 months… Read More

 

T-Mobile will update your unlocked iPhone 5 with LTE and Visual Voicemail on April 5

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 2, 2013

This is quite noteworthy. Following a jailbreak hack which purports to make your unlocked AT&T iPhone 5 (model A1428) work on T-Mobile’s LTE by way of loading a custom carrier firmware, a new report claims the Deutsche Telekom-owned wireless carrier itself will be sending out a carrier update designed to officially enable T-Mobile’s LTE and Visual Voicemail, among other features, on unlocked GSM devices.

The update is scheduled for delivery beginning April 5, a week ahead of T-Mobile’s official April 12 roll-out of its LTE-ready iPhone 5. The patch is good news for AT&T customers looking to jump ship as they won’t be required to buy a newly tweaked iPhone 5 model from T-Mobile in order to enjoy T-Mobile’s 4G LTE speeds. There’s more to know so go past the fold for full details… Read More

 

Jailbreak hack lets you enjoy T-Mobile LTE speeds on your iPhone 5

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 28, 2013

Yesterday, iDB reported that T-Mobile’s iPhone 5 is actually a factory tweaked version of the existing AT&T model A1428 device, with support for T-Mobile’s LTE AWS bandwidths. As a result, existing AT&T customers cannot use their iPhone 5 to take full advantage of T-Mobile’s LTE speeds until after the Deutsche Telekom-owned telco launches its iPhone 5 on April 12, at which point Apple will replace the existing A1428 hardware with this re-tooled version.

But a hack has come along claiming to make AT&T’s A1428 iPhone 5 – jailbroken and unlocked (officially or unofficially) – work on T-Mobile’s LTE on the 1700MHz band. It accomplishes this by using a custom carrier firmware that enables support for T-Mobile’s LTE AWS bandwidths. However, it won’t make your AT&T device compatible with T-Mobile’s speedy 3G DC-HSDPA on the 1700MHz band nor will your Verizon iPhone be fooled into accepting T-Mobile’s LTE bands… Read More

 

T-Mobile testing LTE in major U.S. cities ahead of official launch later this month

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 22, 2013

With all the necessary regulatory approvals concerning T-Mobile’s merger with MetroPCS under its wings, the Deutsche Telekom-owned carrier is expected to accelerate its 4G LTE plans. It’s a tad surprising that T-Mobile has put itself in a position where it remains the sole major U.S. telco without high-speed LTE cellular radio technology.

Be that as it may, its LTE situation is about to change later this month. Just last week, a curious user spotted super-fast data speeds on T-Mobile’s network in Astoria, Queens, a New York City suburb.

Shortly after, the carrier officially confirmed that it will begin providing 4G LTE service by the end of this month and now more LTE spots have been discovered in as much as nine major U.S. cities ahead of the official launch… Read More

 

AT&T’s LTE expands into new markets

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 20, 2013

Hot on the heels of announcing new 30/40/50GB shared data tiers on Monday, U.S. wireless carrier AT&T today said its fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network has expanded coverage in Mobile, Bowling Green and the Waterbury and Meriden areas, including parts of Cheshire, Meriden, Prospect, Waterbury and Wolcott.

As part of the ongoing rollout across the country, AT&T’s LTE now covers 288 million people in the United States. The carrier also flipped the switch on LTE in Dyersburg and Ripley, Sebring and Athens and announced a new prepaid option for its Wireless Home Phone service… Read More

 

T-Mobile’s LTE network spotted in New York City

By Cody Lee on Mar 16, 2013

This is kind of interesting. T-Mobile’s long-awaited LTE network has been spotted in the wild, offering up super-fast data in a suburb of New York City. The carrier is the only one left of the major four in the US that doesn’t offer the 4G tech, but it’s expected to finally launch this year. And a curious subscriber just discovered one of its sites in Astoria, Queens… Read More

 

AT&T’s LTE is the fastest, Verizon rules coverage

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 13, 2013

Aren’t you sick and tired of top U.S. carriers advertising their 4G LTE service as the nation’s fastest and most reliable? This mostly false advertising has been ticking me off for quite some time, especially how T-Mobile promotes its 3G HSPA+ network as 4G. Time for a reality check.

Research firm Rootmetrics yesterday published the results of its survey of U.S. carriers and their fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks. Surprisingly or not, AT&T’s LTE came on top as the fastest, but rival Verizon grabbed the title of the nation’s best LTE coverage. More tidbits right after the break.. Read More

 

AT&T LTE expands, Wi-Fi network growth doubles

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 26, 2013

U.S. carrier AT&T announced an expansion of its fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology in Tunica, Mississippi; Athens and McMinn County; and LaFollette and Campbell County. The company has also flipped the switch on 4G in Tallahassee, Florida; Lawrence, Kansas; and the Salinas and Monterey areas. AT&T says its 4G network covers more than 285 million people and includes 3,000 more 4G cities and towns than Verizon. Letting us in on the latest on its network expansion, the telco underscored its Wi-Fi network doubled in 2012 versus the year-ago period… Read More

 

Qualcomm’s new wireless chip makes a truly global iPhone possible

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 22, 2013

Doesn’t it bother you that Apple sells its LTE devices like the iPhone 5 and latest iPads in a bunch of variants, depending on your carrier and geographical location? For example, the iPhone comes in two GSM models and one CDMA version. Blame it on the limitations with existing wireless chipsets, not Apple. Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is a fantastic technology, but it’s also highly fragmented.

And with nearly fifty different cellular bands in use globally worldwide, no wonder LTE is a bag of hurt, one that has introduced fragmentation unlike any other cellular radio technology before it.

Fortunately, chip maker Qualcomm has announced a new cellular solution which supports as much as 40 different bands on a single chip. It could finally allow Apple to build a truly global iPhone model that could support all implementations of the major cellular technologies used by carriers the world over… Read More

 

AT&T’s LTE expands in Denver, Boise, Nassau and Suffolk counties, now available in Gainesville

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 19, 2013

U.S. carrier AT&T Tuesday announced that it is expanding its fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology in Denver, Boise, Nassau and Suffolk counties while making it available in Gainesville. The carrier continues to poor billions in network expansion as it races rival Verizon Wireless for LTE coverage. According to AT&T, its 4G LTE currently covers 288 million people in the United States… Read More

 

Sprint starts deploying LTE in San Francisco

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 18, 2013

Sprint’s implementation of the fourth-generation Long Term Evolution radio technology has been spotted being deployed in certain parts of San Francisco, New York City and Washington, D.C., all major metropolitan markets. Apple added an additional 36 LTE carriers with the January 28 release of the iOS 6.1 software for iPhones, iPads and iPods.

Sprint on its part during January 2012 lit up LTE towers in 58 markets (here and here). This is a notable improvement because previously only those in neighborhoods in San Francisco could see Sprint’s LTE signal, although coverage in San Francisco is spotty because Sprint has just begun deployment… Read More

 

FreedomPop confirms LTE iPad clip, launches in H2 2013

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 7, 2013

Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom-backed FreedomPop startup made waves with its Freedom Hub Burst no-contract wireless appliance that serves one gigabyte of free 4G data each month to up to 10 wireless or wired devices simultaneously.

Monday, Forbes reported that FreedomPop could unveil an iPad sleeve with 4G data via Sprint’s LTE network. A new report out today sheds more light on the matter: a FreedomPop LTE clip compatible with iPads is indeed due in the second half of this year. We’ve got more tidbits right after the break… Read More

 

Bureaucracy preventing French from getting LTE on their iDevices until year’s end

By Christian Zibreg on Feb 4, 2013

Owners of LTE-enabled Apple devices in France won’t get to enjoy the benefits of speedy cellular downloads before the end of 2013 amid lobbying between the country’s wireless carriers and the agency for telecommunications ARCEP.

The country’s local carriers like Orange and SFR last year spent to the tune of €1.2 billion, or approximately $1.6 billion, to acquire the 800MHz band.

The problem is, this radio frequency is supported neither by the iPhone 5 nor by many mobile devices from other vendors, including Samsung. Moreover, these carriers are now asking the ARCEP to wait until at least end of 2013 before refarming the 1,800MHz spectrum, which is compatible with Apple’s handset… Read More

 
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