T-Mobile USA has announced that more than 120 major cities will have 3G HSPA connectivity by the end of November, a move intended to coincide with the forthcoming exclusive launch of HTC’s high-profile G1 Android phone. As at the end of last week the operator offered HSPA services in 92 major cities, and promises to have 95 major cities connected by the time the Google-powered G1 goes on sale this coming Wednesday. In a statement, T-Mobile USA said the HSDPA network can deliver “download speeds of up to 1Mb/s.” T-Mobile’s latest 3G network announcement marks a change in the way the operator refers to its ongoing deployment. Previously, it talked of having ’27 markets’ up and running by end of year. According to Unstrung, ‘markets’ relates to major cities and the surrounding area, which may include smaller, but still significant, towns and cities. A spokesperson for the operator told the publication that, for the sake of clarity, T-Mobile will now list major cities rather than wider market areas.
T-Mobile – the fourth-largest operator in the US – trails rivals Verizon, AT&T and Sprint Nextel in offering 3G services because it previously lacked the necessary licenses. However, in 2006 the operator spent nearly US$4.2 billion for 120 Advanced Wireless Services licenses and announced plans to spend US$2.66 billion on upgrading its network. A recent edition of Wireless Intelligence’s Snapshot forecast the operator’s WCDMA/HSPA connections base will comfortably surpass 1 million before year-end and reach almost 5 million by the end of 2009 (accounting for between 10 and 15 percent of T-Mobile USA’s total connections).
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