T-Mobile USA prepares for HSPA+
Still playing catch-up with its 3G deployment, the carrier launches US' first 21Mbps dongle and extends no-contract deals
Published: 12 March, 2010
READ MORE: US | T-Mobile | Billing | Dongle/Datacard | HSDPA
T-Mobile USA is striving hard to make up for its belated move into 3G, claiming it can adopt newer HSPA+ technologies more easily and cheaply than AT&T, which is upgrading an older 3G system. The smaller cellco has unveiled the first HSPA+ device to be available in the US, a USB modem, which will go on sale this weekend.
The device is branded the WebConnect Rocket USB Laptop Stick, and will initially be sold in Philadelphia, where TMo has recently upgraded to the 7.2Mbps iteration of HSPA. This peak speed is now available from the cellco in 273 cities covering more than 206m POPs. However, the dongle is able to support faster HSPA+ networks too. While AT&T is avoiding the HSPA+ step, planning to move straight to LTE from 2011 onwards, T-Mobile does not have new spectrum for 4G and is set to pursue a longer HSPA+ path, possibly topped up with a WiMAX or LTE partnership with a spectrum holder like Clearwire.
The firm said it would turn on HSPA+ capabilities, which could go up to peaks of 21Mbps download, in major markets along the east and west coasts in the coming months.
The WebConnect Rocket device will work on those networks from day one and also be backwards compatible with the 7.2Mbps network as well as combining Wi-Fi connectivity. The device will retail for $100 after rebates and a two-year contract on one of the Even More WebConnect data plans.
The dongle also sees TMo extending its new no-contract plans to data, in line with a growing trend for carriers to provide more flexible terms for mobile broadband, often ushered in on new devices (pioneered by Clearwire, and seen on products like AT&T's forthcoming iPad). The no-contract or as-needed plans loosen the carrier's grip on the user, but allow them to avoid subsidies and match fees more closely to the customer's actual data usage. TMo originally introduced these options for voice. It now offers a data plan capped at 5Gb per month for $50, a $10-a-month discount on a two-year, fully subsidized deal. The same saving is seen on the 200Mb deal, which is $20 without contract tie-in.
Meanwhile, the Even More Plus option is a halfway house between subsidy/contract and pay-as-you-go. It allows customers to pay reduced monthly fees at the expense of the initial handset subsidy, which typically runs between $100 and $200. They can choose to fold the price of their device into their monthly rate plan charges spread over 4-20 months.
All the data plans offer unlimited access to the HotSpot Wi-Fi service, which - as AT&T also knows well - has a dual function, adding value to the customer's contract, and encouraging them to offload their data usage from the overstretched cellular RAN.
The no-contract plans undercut the $60, 5Gb plans that are typical from TMo's rivals - for instance, Sprint's new unlimited access deal for WiMAX. Verizon and AT&T offer a no-contract data deal for $50 a month for 500Mb, with no subsidy on the dongle.
Related Stories
More US News
More T-MOBILE News
More BILLING News
COMMENTS
Digital Money: The Convergence of Contactless Card and Mobile Payments
This report examines the emergence of digital money from the perspective of the convergence of card-based proximity payments to the...
Cloudbooks: Market Analysis and Forecasts
This report is based on interviews with device OEMs, retailers and resellers and provides a comprehensive analysis of the new cloudbook...
Satellite Phones: Will Dual Mode Help the Phoenix Rise from the Ashes?
Satellite phones have followed an arduous path since their much-hyped launch more than a decade ago. The hype was followed by an e...
