T-Mobile Expands 4G-Like HSPA+ Network

From DailyTech: T-Mobile continued to roll out its "4G-like" HSPA+ network today to a bevy of new markets, much to the chagrin of AT&T.

With the addition of Los Angeles; Dallas; Atlanta; Houston; Seattle; Tampa and Orlando, Fla.; Pittsburgh; Charlotte, Greensboro, and Winston-Salem, N.C.; Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla.; New Orleans; and Charleston, S.C.; Bentonville, Ark.; Anderson, S.C.; and Fayetteville, N.C., to its roster of HSPA+ markets, T-Mobile's high-speed network now covers 25 major metropolitan areas across the country, the company stated in a press release.

"T-Mobile has rolled out HSPA+ service to more than 25 major metropolitan areas in four month’s time, as we drive towards having the most pervasive mobile broadband network delivering 4G speeds in the country," said Neville Ray, senior vice president of Engineering and Operations for T-Mobile USA in the press release.

The nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier plans to implement the technology in 100 major metros and cover 185 million Americans by the end of the year. It is important to note that the number of people covered does not correlate to quality of coverage, particularly with a technology like HSPA+, which fluctuates based on individual users' proximity to the towers.

HSPA+ isn't exactly 4G technology -- like Sprint's WiMax and Verizon's LTE -- but rather an upgrade to 3G that delivers what T-Mobile calls "4G speeds" to consumers with HSPA+ devices, like the MyTouch Slide or the webConnect Jet Laptop Stick. HSPA+ offers theoretical downlink speeds of up to 56 Mbps and uplink speeds of up to 22 Mbps.

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