T-Mobile, the smallest of America’s four major wireless operators and a company that enjoys their underdog status while acknowledging they need to improve their image, has just announced that they’ve launched 21 Mbps HSPA+ service in 8 new markets (Albany, Augusta, Columbus and Macon, Georgia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Champaign, Illinois; Lansing, Michigan; and Rochester, Minnesota) and that they now cover over 200 million people with 4G access. More importantly T-Mobile has also revealed that by the middle of 2011 they plan to cover 140 million Americans in 25 markets with 42 Mbps HSPA+, the next phase of their 4G rollout. Considering that the only smartphone even capable of taking full advantage of the current network is the recently announced Vibrant 4G, we’ve got to wonder how long it’s going to take to see a smartphone come with full 42 Mbps download capability.
Verizon is probably going to end up covering more people with LTE by the end of this year than T-Mobile does with HSPA+, but the complexity of building a mobile handset that handles both CDMA and LTE will limit the amount of handsets available to consumers. The same can be said for Sprint, who only has a handful of devices that can handle both CDMA and WiMAX. AT&T shares the same GSM based technology as T-Mobile, but they don’t like to talk about what flavor their HSPA+ is and how many people are even capable of getting 4G access.
At the end of the day, just go with someone who has fantastic coverage in your local area and who is easy on the wallet. Many don’t know this, but T-Mobile has a sub-brand called Simply Mobile that doesn’t sell phones. They just give you a SIM card. For $60 per month you get unlimited texting, to both domestic and international numbers, unlimited messaging, and unlimited data. That’s a damn bargain if you ask us.