T-Mobile's 3G "crawl-out" blamed on government
by Sean Cooper 
posted Sep 26th 2007 at 10:48AM
T-Mobile is apparently in a tizzy over the apparent slow pace which the government -- like law enforcement and homeland security -- is moving to free up the 1700 MHz spectrum that it spent heavily on in last year's AWS auction. After spending a cool $4.1 billion on 120 licenses for spectrum and earmarking another $2.1 billion for the UMTS / HSDPA upgrades, we get that they're peeved. Unfortunately for T-Mob, $1.1 billion of the AWS auction blood money will be used for the government's spectrum shift and they have up to six years to get it done -- though in T-Mobile defense, they've offered up $50 million to help speed up the process. It looks like it will be a tough slog for the last-place-in the-3g-race crew, here's hoping things work out soonish.[Via PhoneScoop]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Nando @ Sep 26th 2007 11:17AM
I'm really stupid. What does this mean? lol
timatl @ Sep 26th 2007 1:04PM
the government is presently using the 1700Mhz spectrum and they have a few years to stop using it. at this point Tmo will be able use the spectrum for 3G.
Nando @ Sep 26th 2007 3:15PM
Oh. That sucks.
Thanks, timatl, for explaining it in non-techie jargon.
dand @ Sep 26th 2007 11:31AM
this bl0ws. but im gonna ride this out. im going to wait till hell freezes, melts, and lights back up again.
Rob Fleming @ Sep 26th 2007 11:56AM
sounds like someone didnt read the fine print.
after this, in addition to a wifi/uma/googlemaps-less sidekick announcement, I think im out finally. Found a cell shop that will pay my ETF fee to leave. Sorry tmobile, I brought you all my friends, but sadly its time for me to go.
xman @ Sep 26th 2007 11:57AM
I knew something was wrong. But 6 years??? WTF? This just shows how inefficient the government still is. Guess they should have just waited on the 700mhz auction. lol At least TV networks will be off by 2009 I believe. This makes my decision final now. I will actually go back to the darkside and join Sprint for 2yrs and take advantage of their EV-DO under the SERO plan. Too bad T-Mobile!!
reno6 @ Sep 26th 2007 1:10PM
Welcome aboard SERO, the best plan IMO on this planet! Downside is that we are stuck with those ugly CDMA phones (functionality-wise is ok though)....
c.Lake @ Sep 29th 2007 7:09AM
Normally I would agree with you on how annoying it is for others to "blame the government" for there problems. However, 6 years is long time to get something like this done. However, there's a pretty obvious reason on why the government hasn't been about the get the simplest things done -- the MONEY is going somewhere else.
Think about where the money could be going over the past 6 years. 3G is going to have to take a backseat and wait patiently, until that OTHER matter is settled.
Rob Fleming @ Sep 26th 2007 11:58AM
BTW T-mo, you really could make this easier by just informing us of a realistic rollout for each region, like when Tampa or New York can expect it, etc.
Jeff @ Sep 26th 2007 1:42PM
This is killin me! What the hell... They pay the government tons of loot for that spectrum then give 50mil more and still we suffer. That damn death star is lookin pretty good right now. What a frickin waste.
j__1 @ Sep 26th 2007 1:50PM
I find myself laughing so hard when people blame the government for not moving faster to get out of the way of AWS roll-out. Uh, has TMO not reaped the rewards of an artificial market?
Why do you think rates are so high, and Verizon and others are more than happy to just sit on licenses... and new competitors aren't diving in to rip this fatty industry to shreds? The government.
And besides, TMO was well aware of the situation when they placed their bids.
jc_atl @ Sep 26th 2007 3:14PM
I really wish I didn't have a year left on my contract. AT&T has great 3G coverage in Atlanta and T-Mobile is just an also-ran at this point. Sure their rates are a bit cheaper, but then I'm not getting as much as far as data rates, right? It doesn't help that even if 3G were not important to me, TMO's phone selection just completely blows. Except for a couple of high end WM5/6 devices, they offer nothing to the cell phone enthusiast.
maikel @ Sep 26th 2007 3:12PM
Wow, I feel sorry for them but oh well.That's what they get for going in a whole different direction.Why they just didnt do it like AT&T by upgrading their existing network of 850 1900 networks to 3G.Nobody else in the world use the 1700 bands, by doing that, they're just isolating themselves by having phones that will be incompatible with others.
By the time they roll out with 3G, all carriers will be so far ahead.No wonder they are last.
xman @ Sep 27th 2007 12:40AM
You really think it's that simple??? Sorry to inform you but there is limited bandwidth on the 1900mhz spectrum in the US shared by both T-Mobile and AT&T. The 850mhz bandwidth (what's available) is owned by AT&T and is only used in the US as well. Therefore, T-Mobile has no room on either frequency to launch their own 3G. This forced them to pay for another band on the spectrum. Otherwise, if what you were saying was true, it would have been done a long time ago.
henry @ Sep 26th 2007 4:10PM
yeah, this has pretty much sealed the deal for me. when my contract is up, i'm out. ive been waiting for more than a year already. enough is enough. too bad, as t-mobile is really one of the best IMO, but this has gone on long enough.
andrew @ Sep 26th 2007 4:38PM
I'm just curious...it seems to me that a lot of folks are fed up with TMO and the lack of 3G and are ready to switch carriers fully acknowledging that TMO is the better deal. It seems to me that EDGE is plenty good for most things on a mobile device with the exception of streaming media. I have a BlackBerry Pearl (soon to be Curve 8320) on T-Mobile. I surf the net and download attachments just fine over EDGE. Now the fact that I can't download my attachments faster is not making me jump ship. If you tether or use mobile data on your laptop a lot then EDGE is just not going to cut it. I picked up a Sprint Data Card to deal with that. The way I see it, I don't want to put up with Verizon's expensive plans, or Sprint's poor voice network in Chicago or ATT period (plus on ATT when I go back to Ohio I'm back on EDGE anyway). So, what is everyone doing (or wanting to do) with their blazing fast 3G connections that would "force" people to reluctantly switch from TMO?
Omagus @ Sep 27th 2007 1:48AM
Yep, I'm exactly the same. EDGE has been just fine for me for most things, and I also have Wifi. I'm also considering getting a Sprint data card.
Other than 3G, I've found T-Mobile to be far and away the best carrier for me. I refuse to go back to a CDMA carrier for my phone and AT&T is just more trouble than it's worth.
Yankees368 @ Sep 26th 2007 6:27PM
That all sucks for T-Mobile. If I remember correctly, didn't they build out the NYC market to 3G some time ago, and are just waiting to flip the switch?
noob @ Sep 27th 2007 4:26PM
no one pay tmobile there bill until they can get 3g
Donald @ Oct 2nd 2007 6:28PM
Enjoy your credit hit.
WebGuy @ Nov 18th 2008 10:03AM
There bill?
Where bill?
james @ Sep 27th 2007 8:25AM
no wonder they are ripping people off charging $300 for every sidekick knowing that it has the same crap. I complained about that to them in an email let's see what happens. I am not going to sit here and dish out my hard earned cash for a phone that sucks. Thier line up is terrible and the blackberry plans come out to 95 with voice and all. Why pay that much when you most likely have a computer at home. I'd rather buy a portable laptop. I currently have the Samsung SGH E 250 with 9 months remaining on my 2 year contract them im leaving t-mobile for good. At least they have until next summer to show me what is going on with that 3G. Anybody know about the JUNO? some websites have that coming out in a few weeks to replace the Dash.
Jeff @ Oct 2nd 2007 6:14PM
They "hooked me" back in 14 months ago with press releases of a soon to be released 3g...mid 2007 at latest. Now they discontiue a plan I had and raise the rates from 5 to 26 cents/min to Mexico (on the $5.00 extra per month for nickle rates) and won't let me out. I am willing to forgo the cheap calls to friends in Mexico for 3g, but tmobile continues to push their crappy phones (with new contracts) that will become semi-obsolete if they ever role out 3g.
Blame the fed...BS. Tmobile USED to be state of the art. They now are last, and are losing the patience of (ex) loyal customers like me who won't switch back after paying the $200 to get out.
josh @ Oct 8th 2007 7:28AM
i hope they get a 3g network going. but i am switching to tmobile from sprint. because sprint is just to expensive i pay a 100 bucks a month for sprint. and i'll only be paying 65 a month with tmobile.
Steve T @ Nov 21st 2007 1:36PM
Here's how TMobile can save itself, or at least show that are at least trying (notice: contains foul language)...
With the Techie/power user crowd:
Quit fucking around with all of those shitty, good-for-not-much phones, and get your US offerings together. You can get a Nokia N95 running Symbian/S60 for about $300 (200 Euros) on 2-year contract in Europe.
What can you get for that price range in the US? A Sidekick, RAZR2, or "Wing" running Windows Mobile.
For the iPhone crowd:
TMobile does iPhone in Germany, why not offer plans for unlocked phones here with visual voicemail & data. You obviously have the technology. Want some customers? They're waiting, get your shit together.
I've been a loyal customer. I've been on TMob since they were VoiceStream, without a contract for a long time, using my own Nokia/Symbian phones. Come on, throw me a bone and do something to help your company in the US.
beatnic @ Nov 21st 2007 9:04PM
The T-mobile split for 3G will be 1700 MHz and 2100 MHz. It is different in Europe. Quad band phones have to cover 850, 900,1850 and 1900 MHz. The new 700 MHz band will be around in a couple of years, perhaps with an open source operating system. Wifi is on 2400 MHz. Way cool, you will need an eight band device to go everywhere and do it all. It will be more fun than tuning a ham radio. The government should vacate the 1700 MHz band as quickly as they ever can. I suspect they are messing with the Germans (Deutsches Telecom) for some unknown reason. Maybe the fix is in?
gowen @ Nov 24th 2007 7:31PM
for anyone wanting to leave T-mobile on the east coast and go to another sim card carrier - don't. ATT has awful service here. I changed to ATT to get an iPhone. While it works perfectly when I am in Europe, up and down the east coast I am plagued by dropped calls. I would love to know where ATT got their line about least dropped calls, T-Mobile was way better.
john @ Feb 3rd 2008 6:05PM
Will the T-Mobile Wing support G3 when the G3 network becomes available? I'm in New York City.
txtat2 @ Dec 11th 2007 4:21AM
unfortunately...no. no current mobile windows device from tmo will.
npiechocki @ Dec 27th 2007 3:34PM
There are a handful of UMTS 2100 MHz phones but, clearly little for 1700 (matter of fact, those that I have seen were those designed specifically for T-mobile). I imagine if they do roll it out over both bands, you'll see a lot of congestion on the former. On the plus side, they may be more likely to subsidize otherwise more-expensive handsets.
http://www.electronista.com/articles/07/10/11/t.mobile.t639/
http://www.phonenews.com/content/view/1899/9/
http://www.engadget.com/tag/1700mhz/
hfm @ Mar 26th 2008 11:40AM
I have an e61i I'm using on TM.. hopefully they'll roll out UMTS 2100 and my gamble on going with a 3G device with the euro spec will pan out. :)