LTE

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

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 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...

Sprint, Verizon and AT&T announce major LTE expansion

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 12, 2017

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...

I’m sorry Verizon CEO, but you didn’t talk Steve Jobs into bringing LTE to the iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 11, 2013

Apple has long been criticized for not making an LTE iPhone at a time when most Android handsets boasted high-speed cellular networking capability. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam has come out of the woodwork to take credit for personally persuading Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs to add LTE connectivity to the popular smartphone.

He also shared interesting stats regarding the technology, saying that half of all wireless traffic on Verizon's network is now related to video content. McAdam remarks he's expecting that video will comprise two-thirds of all wireless traffic on the Verizon network by 2017, thanks to the company's capital expenditure in deploying LTE technology. As for his comment regarding an LTE iPhone, I'm not buying it and here's why...

AT&T to light up LTE in 79 new markets by the end of summer

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

T-Mobile may be two years late to the LTE party, but it has some ambitious rollout plans for its 4G network. In a press release yesterday, the carrier said it hopes to cover 200 million+ subscribers with LTE by the end of 2013.

But not wanting to give up any ground to the Deutsche Telekom-owned company, AT&T announced today some enterprising rollout plans of its own. The carrier says it will add LTE to 79 new markets by the end of the summer...

T-Mobile iPhone carrier bundle is now available for download

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 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...

T-Mobile’s iPhone carrier update is out with support for LTE and Visual Voicemail [updated]

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Following up its iPhone 5 pre-order earlier today, T-Mobile has begun rolling out a carrier update to unlocked iPhone customers on its network. The carrier is preparing to officially launch the popular handset next Friday.

We'd heard last week that the OTA (or over the air) update was going to include Visual Voicemail support and LTE support for compatible devices. But it looks like there's more to it then that. Keep reading for the full details...

14 new markets receive AT&T’s LTE

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 3, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCb6pz0G_gE

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...

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

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 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...

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

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 26, 2016

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...

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

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 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...

AT&T’s LTE expands into new markets

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 20, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjCvY4utV-o

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...

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

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

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...