T-Mobile might be rolling out aggregation/advanced LTE services as we speak

[LeoRex]

OK... I'm fussing around with my Nexus 5X and loaded a new build and when it boots up, I notice something odd about the status bar:



Now, I suspect that this might be T-Mobile rolling out carrier aggregation (I'm in MA), something they talked about in their recent press events. My phone is still restoring at the moment, so I am not able to run a speed test to see if there is a noticeable bump in throughput, but it's something to look out for.

 

[LeoRex]

I checked with T-Mobile on Twitter, and they were a bit coy in their answer. So I suspect that its a managed rollout in select markets and nothing officially launched nationwide just yet.

 

[jerethi]

Whoa. I noticed that too yesterday (in Seattle). I had just flashed PureNexus though and figured it was something ROM-specific. Are you running stock?

 

[jerethi]

It's popped up again and I just ran a speed test on fast.com. Normally, I get fairly dismal service in my office, but this time I clocked in at 4.1Mbps. That seems a definite improvement.

 

[LeoRex]

I'm running Dirty Unicorns on it at the moment.

I'll have to play around with it a bit... eyeballing, I was getting around 40Mb/s when it was sucking down apps from Google Play, which is 3 or so times faster than what I usually got at my office. But a while later I ran a speed test and showed 20... but its an office park, so people were probably getting into work and hitting the tower more, so there's not enough there to make a conclusion.

 

[B. Diddy]

I'm in the Silicon Valley -- which means we'll get it some time in the next millennium.

 

[Almeuit]

Nothing in here in Florida yet from what I have seen with my Pixel XL.

 

[jerethi]

I'm actually now thinking this is a result of flashing a new ROM rather than a change in T-Mobile service.

 

[LeoRex]

I'm actually now thinking this is a result of flashing a new ROM rather than a change in T-Mobile service.

No, it's definitely carrier aggregation... I got verification from the ROM devs.

 

[jerethi]

No, it's definitely carrier aggregation... I got verification from the ROM devs.

Right. What I meant was that I am seeing the LTE+ symbol now as a result of flashing a custom ROM.