Why are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

[signaltwins]

what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

There are several towns around me that have not been upgraded to 3G yet, according to the local T-Mobile corporate stores.
There are not rural areas.

What is T-Mobile waiting for?

 

[RumoredNow]

Re: what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

Most of T-Mo's network is running 3G/H+ (Faux G) on the 1700 band... Here's the Official T-Mobile map showing that coverage: Unsupported Browser

What you may have been hearing about is the switch of 3G/H+ to the 1900 band so that AT&T compatible phones can get the faster data speed on that band. They will then move LTE (true 4G) over to 1700. Here's an unofficial map showing where that conversion has taken place. Sightings of T-Mobile 3G/4G/HSPA+ coverage on 1900MHz (PCS/UMTS band II)

What area are you in? Your forum profile doesn't say...

 

[gone down south]

Re: what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

T-Mobile is the smallest major carrier in the US, and they've focused their limited resources into getting good coverage on major metro areas. Rural and smaller towns just haven't caught up yet.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[Pkt_Lnt]

Re: what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

Editorial: T-Mobile Needs To Focus On The Real Network Issue: The Large Swath Of 2G-Only Markets

Editorial: T-Mobile Needs To Focus On The Real Network Issue: The Large Swath Of 2G-Only Markets | TmoNewsTmoNews

 

[IAmSixNine]

Re: what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

There are several towns around me that have not been upgraded to 3G yet, according to the local T-Mobile corporate stores.
There are not rural areas.

What is T-Mobile waiting for?

Guess it depends on what device your using and your location.
Using an official TMO device that supports 1700mhz band i get nothing but HSDPA+ all the time in Dallas.
But using an ATT unlocked device i get half the speeds when i do a comparison.

 

[Pkt_Lnt]

Re: what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

Guess it depends on what device your using and your location.
Using an official TMO device that supports 1700mhz band i get nothing but HSDPA+ all the time in Dallas.
But using an ATT unlocked device i get half the speeds when i do a comparison.

Unless you live outside a major metro area,

The entire states of West Virginia, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota have zero native coverage. Ostensibly, these markets are covered by the UMTS roaming agreement with AT&T that went active this year. Alaska has zero native coverage, but it served with roaming agreements with local GSM operators in some areas. Geographically, large amounts of Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, Iowa, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and the New England area are not covered by a native network either. T-Mobile has spectrum licenses to deploy in these areas. For one reason or another, it has chosen not to. But T-Mobile needs to do something soon about those states, because it has a lot of spectrum that it paid a lot of money to get. If it doesn?t do something with them, it could lose those licenses at the end of the decade.

In the areas where T-Mobile does have a native network, most of it is 2G-only. A bit of it is still GPRS, but nearly all of the 2G network has EDGE now. With the major markets all modernized, T-Mobile needs to push forward in markets that have been neglected over the years.

Editorial: T-Mobile Needs To Focus On The Real Network Issue: The Large Swath Of 2G-Only Markets | TmoNewsTmoNews

 

[Korama12]

Re: what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

T-Mobile is the smallest major carrier in the US, and they've focused their limited resources into getting good coverage on major metro areas. Rural and smaller towns just haven't caught up yet.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Exactly. If you live in the middle of the country then, chances are, T-Mobile isn't for you. Along the coasts and major metropolitan areas T-Mobile is faster and cheaper than most.

 

[chunkcohen]

Re: what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

Yep, this has always been the Achille's Heel of T-Mobile. I'm mostly in major metros, so these things don't really affect me too much. BUT...it would definitely be nice to see more of the 2G/EDGE only areas get re-farmed to UTMS, as this article is saying. When I'm on road trips and want to use Spotify through inland California on the way to LA, I often can't until I hit Palm Springs. When Spotify loses 3G signal, it's practically unusable. EDGE just isn't fast enough and it has a TON of latency.

 

[Internet_Tough_Guy]

Re: what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

Yep, this has always been the Achille's Heel of T-Mobile. I'm mostly in major metros, so these things don't really affect me too much. BUT...it would definitely be nice to see more of the 2G/EDGE only areas get re-farmed to UTMS, as this article is saying. When I'm on road trips and want to use Spotify through inland California on the way to LA, I often can't until I hit Palm Springs. When Spotify loses 3G signal, it's practically unusable. EDGE just isn't fast enough and it has a TON of latency.

agreed, Tmo service is horrible when you travel to rural areas of the US. In metro areas, it's blazing fast high speed data. At least you still get voice coverage in 2G areas..

 

[greatgoogly]

Re: what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

Yeah, getting EDGE/GPRS only outside of the cities is pretty much par for the course with T-Mobile. Some suburbs do have 3G/4G but the signal drops back to EDGE/GPRS if there is any distance between you and the towers. I find a lot of time with my Nexus 4 the EDGE/GPRS is basically unusable. Despite a deep loathing for ATT I'm in the process of signing on with them after 8 years with T-Mobile. When I first signed up with T-Mobile I was basically a voice customer so EDGE/GPRS didn't matter, but now I rely more on data and T-Mobile has not given any indications that they have a plan to upgrade the vast Suburban and Rural areas that are languishing in 2G. I'll check back with T-Mobile in 2 years and hopefully things will change.

 

[dmartin1910]

Re: what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

I'm only getting EVO at home
Atlanta is supposed to be "fauxG"! (If you use another signal app it's always one category down from what the native signal detector says).

 

[Almeuit]

Re: what are so many T-Mobile areas still 2G/EDGE only?

Wow this thread is old .

Sent from my T-Mobile Note 3 using AC Forums.