T-Mobile USA pushes past 30M pops covered with HSPA+

The smallest of the wireless industry’s nationwide operators continues to pressure its larger rivals rolling out its HSPA+ network in a number of densely populated markets in the Northeast, including New York City; parts of New Jersey; areas of upstate New York; Connecticut; and Providence, R.I.; as well as in Memphis, Tenn., and Las Vegas. The newly available markets join previous launches in Philadelphia and the Washington, D.C. area.
In total the carrier said the 21 megabit per second version of the HSPA+ standard now covers more than 30 million potential customers with plans to cover 100 metro areas and 185 million pops by the end of the year.
The carrier had previously announced its HSPA+ plans at the CTIA trade show in March where it showed off a USB modem compatible with its enhanced network. Speed tests using the device on a laptop computer showed download speeds of around 8 Mbps and upload speeds of around 2.5 Mbps, both comparable to what some of its larger rivals have been touting for their so-called “4G” networks.
(Save the intrigue about network speed tests. I think most know that carriers do all they can to “bolster” speed claims whenever possible.)
Verizon Wireless recently released video of speed tests for its LTE network in the Boston area showing downlink speeds of around 8.5 Mbps and upload speeds of 2.8 Mbps. The carrier said it plans to cover 100 million pops in up to 30 markets with the new network by the end of the year.
AT&T Mobility announced last week that it was updating its current HSPA service with the 14.4 Mbps version of the HSPA+ standard beginning later this year on its way to launching LTE services beginning in 2011.
Sprint Nextel Corp. is partnering with Clearwire Corp. to launch WiMAX services covering 120 million pops by the end of the year, and already offers the service in dozens of markets providing real-world download speeds of around 6 Mbps. Clearwire has also hinted that it could look towards other technology deployments, including LTE, going forward.
“Network-wise, T-Mobile USA continues in a catch up game against larger rivals in building out its 3G network and shedding an image of limited coverage,” noted William Ho, VP of consumer services at Current Analysis Inc. in a recent report. “Although it is late to 3G, its newest HSPA+ 21 Mbps provide a speed differentiation that provides a foundation to court data-centric customers. Moreover, HSPA+ provides a plausible stopgap measure as the company figures out a 4G strategy and as rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless launch LTE-based services in the next couple of years.”
The continued bolstering of its network is also important for T-Mobile USA from a marketing perspective as the carrier posted disappointing first quarter results in which it lost 77,000 customers, the poorest showing of the nationwide operators.
The carrier recently announced updates to its traditional prepaid services, a segment that actually posted net customer additions during the first quarter. The move followed a thorough revamping of its rate plans last October that helped boost its fourth quarter 2009 results.