Just read AT&T is buying tmobile. Does that mean we WI I'll see faster and better 3G performance of the iPad??
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ATT acquiring T mobile=better iPad 3G performance?
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No. The baseband processor that the iPad1/2 use, isn't capable of 14.4 or 21mbps HSDPA. It's only capable of 7.2mbps.
Unfortunately, your iPad 3G is not capable of HSPA+ network.
T-mobile's 3G works on 1700 HZ frequency and not AT&T's 3G's 850HZ frequency.
Of course, this transition will not happen over night. It will take longer than a year that both AT&T and t-mobile claim...
It is very likely that AT&T will deploy HSPA+ network for this year and get ready for LTE until 2013 to battle with Verizon.
T-mobile's 3G works on 1700 HZ frequency and not AT&T's 3G's 850HZ frequency.
Of course, this transition will not happen over night. It will take longer than a year that both AT&T and t-mobile claim...
It is very likely that AT&T will deploy HSPA+ network for this year and get ready for LTE until 2013 to battle with Verizon.
We wont see it anytime soon but definitely will see 3g running in more areas and after awhile it will get much better.
Probably not. Not anytime soon, at least. It will take months or a whole year for the regulators to review everything and approve (if ever) it. Then it will take months (and/or years) for the two companies to merge, and solve out the technical details. So it will be a year or two before the whole process is completed, and by that time you will be playing with your iPad 4.
Furthermore, AT&T use 850 & 1900 bands for 3G, while T-Mobile uses 1700 & 200. Not only are the bands different, the implementation is different too. You only need 1 of the two (850 & 1900) bands to connect to AT&T 3G network, and in the majority of the markets AT&T is using only 850 for 3G. But for T-mobile, you need BOTH 1700 & 2100 for 3G. That's why, although the iPhone and iPad support bands 850/1900/2100, you cannot connect to T-Mobile 3G network even if you unlock it and put a T-Mobile sim in it. It's up to AT&T to decide what to do with the 1700 & 2100 bands once they acquired T-Mobile, they may break them up and add 2100 to its current 3G network, and then use 1700 for something else. But it's too far in the future. When the acquisition is completed, our current generation devices are already outdated.
Even if T-Mobile supported 1900 and 850 bands, the baseband processor in the iPad1/2 doesn't support anything faster than 7.2mbps. So HSPA+ wouldn't be able to be used until Apple upgrades the baseband processor.
AT&T is already pulling fiber backhaul to the towers (completed in some areas) and that will help a lot. The iPad 3G peaks out at 7.2 mbps. That's actually pretty damn fast. Theoretically that's faster than my AT&T Pro DSL at home (6 mbps). But no it's not HSPA+.
As others have pointed out, the T-Mobile acquisition will have zero effect on coverage or speeds for at least 1 year from today. They have to close the deal first. I actually worry the deal might slow down AT&T's upgrades in some areas as they wait for the better option (just use a nearby T-Mobile tower) to become available, but I can't claim to actually know any details about how this really works.
As others have pointed out, the T-Mobile acquisition will have zero effect on coverage or speeds for at least 1 year from today. They have to close the deal first. I actually worry the deal might slow down AT&T's upgrades in some areas as they wait for the better option (just use a nearby T-Mobile tower) to become available, but I can't claim to actually know any details about how this really works.
I think AT&T and T-Mobile are on different frequencies even though they are both GSM. I don't understand why a company would want to purchase cell company running on a different band.
Verizon-> Alltell = Makes Sense; they were roaming on each other anyways.
Sprint-> Nextel = Doesn't make Sense
AT&T-> T-Mobile= Maybe Make Sense since both GSM
I am no phone junky, so I might be wrong.
Verizon-> Alltell = Makes Sense; they were roaming on each other anyways.
Sprint-> Nextel = Doesn't make Sense
AT&T-> T-Mobile= Maybe Make Sense since both GSM
I am no phone junky, so I might be wrong.
