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T-Mobile to Introduce iPhone 5 tomorrow!

R

rockitdog

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Mar 25, 2013
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I'm a pseudo-new T-Mo customer and have recently been using the GSM unlocked iPhone 5 on their network. I live just our of reach of where their 3G ends and the Edge coverage begins. I loathe the speed I get when on Edge but the 3G speeds are awesome for an HSPA+ only network (4-11+Mbs).

What bugs me is that when I use one of T-Mo's GS3 I get their HSPA+ network in my town and which only gets Edge on the iPhone 5. Why is that? Both are running on the HSPA+ network (soon to be LTE).

My question is basically once T-Mo officially carries the iPhone is there something that they will be able to go to make its signal capabilities equal to what their current Android phones get. Why are the Androids able to run better in one location but the iPhone can't? Aren't both running on the same 1900Mhz network?

Will the T-Mobile iPhone have something different inside than the current GSM version I have?
 
wxman2003 said:
Because they call their HSPA+ network 4G, when it really isnt.
Click to expand...

I never said it was 4G. My question is why do Androids from T-Mo work better than iPhones do currently and will does anyone think this will change with official T-Mo Network support?

FYI, I have seen T-Mos HSPA+ network get some faster download speeds than Verizon's LTE network that is starting to become over saturated and bogged down.
 
rockitdog said:
I'm a pseudo-new T-Mo customer and have recently been using the GSM unlocked iPhone 5 on their network. I live just our of reach of where their 3G ends and the Edge coverage begins. I loathe the speed I get when on Edge but the 3G speeds are awesome for an HSPA+ only network (4-11+Mbs).

What bugs me is that when I use one of T-Mo's GS3 I get their HSPA+ network in my town and which only gets Edge on the iPhone 5. Why is that? Both are running on the HSPA+ network (soon to be LTE).

My question is basically once T-Mo officially carries the iPhone is there something that they will be able to go to make its signal capabilities equal to what their current Android phones get. Why are the Androids able to run better in one location but the iPhone can't? Aren't both running on the same 1900Mhz network?

Will the T-Mobile iPhone have something different inside than the current GSM version I have?
Click to expand...

The Galaxy S 3 available through TMO can take advantage of AWS (1700/2100) frequencies that TMO launched HSPA+ while the iPhone 5 can only take advantage of HSPA+ on 1900 MHZ. The problem is that TMO is refarming 1900MHZ so that the iPhone can use that faster data speed, but it hasn't been built out everywhere so you'll run into problems just as what you are describing.

I am curious about the AWS portion tomorrow. I'd love to see some AWS love, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
 
Apple will not make a AWS phone for T-mobile. The refarming is going good, but still has ways to go. My iPhone 5 (bought unlocked) is sitting idle while I went back to my SGS2 in December that runs on T-mobile's AWS frequency.
corys00 said:
The Galaxy S 3 available through TMO can take advantage of AWS (1700/2100) frequencies that TMO launched HSPA+ while the iPhone 5 can only take advantage of HSPA+ on 1900 MHZ. The problem is that TMO is refarming 1900MHZ so that the iPhone can use that faster data speed, but it hasn't been built out everywhere so you'll run into problems just as what you are describing.

I am curious about the AWS portion tomorrow. I'd love to see some AWS love, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...
 
upnorth85 said:
Apple will not make a AWS phone for T-mobile. The refarming is going good, but still has ways to go. My iPhone 5 (bought unlocked) is sitting idle while I went back to my SGS2 in December that runs on T-mobile's AWS frequency.
Click to expand...

What exactly is AWS? I've heard this term before but I'm not sure what exactly it is.

Is Apple content to just to let TMO run their LTE on their devices and not do anything to make the phone run any betters when not on LTE?

Seems counter productive especially when it will be competing with the HTC One and S4 & even the Z10 to some extent. You'd think they would want to make it the very best they could to hep it sell on TMO.
 
I get faster speeds on t-mobile hspa+ than I do on att LTE.

att LTE i get 25mbps
t-mob hspa+: 30mbps

I think t-mobiles hspa+ is up to 42 mbps
 
mattopotamus said:
I get faster speeds on t-mobile hspa+ than I do on att LTE.

att LTE i get 25mbps
t-mob hspa+: 30mbps

I think t-mobiles hspa+ is up to 42 mbps
Click to expand...

Yeah, AT&Ts HSPA+ tops out at 21 mbps and TMOs is 42 mbps (theoretically).
 
I admit I was wrong but pleasantly surprised. In fact a friend of mine who is an Engineer with T-mobile was also very surprised as was his team. So this AWS thing was kept under the wraps and I am not sure if Apple's 2nd quarter expected plateau in sales growth and failure in emerging markets of China and India, made Apple rethink its strategy to compete head on with Samsung which in any case sells its phones by configuring it to every country and every provider. Moreover, T-mobile has more customers than adults in Canada so it was not insignificant market for Apple. I think by offering the AWS frequency, Apple will sell several more millions iPhones on the T-mobile network. Heck, I am replacing my iPhone 5, with the new one 12th April.

corys00 said:
What were you saying about Apple not making an AWS phone?

http://www.tmonews.com/2013/03/appl...bands-existing-devices-wont-have-aws-support/
Click to expand...


----------

Both my post and your post were before T-mobile announced that the new iPhone 5 WILL have AWS coverage. T-mobile already runs good 4G on their 1700/2100 Mhz frequency called AWS. Apple was initially reluctant to configure a phone to suit T-mobile, and thus T-mobile was refarming some of their Edge network to 1900 Mhz PCS which the iPhone 5 already has. But now the new one has both 1900 Mhz and also the AWS frequency so this will give great coverage for T-mobile customers, particularly those living in suburbs where 1900 Mhz PCS coverage is still shoddy.

rockitdog said:
What exactly is AWS? I've heard this term before but I'm not sure what exactly it is.

Is Apple content to just to let TMO run their LTE on their devices and not do anything to make the phone run any betters when not on LTE?

Seems counter productive especially when it will be competing with the HTC One and S4 & even the Z10 to some extent. You'd think they would want to make it the very best they could to hep it sell on TMO.
Click to expand...
 
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