time frame on 1900MHz refarming?

I will patiently waiting for Boston to go live... I'm ready for my new celly, T Mobile isn't, lol.

I'm in Boston, MA and I am having a difficult time getting any confirmation or even someone knowledgeable enough to discuss the refarming of the 1900 MHz frequency for 3g.  I've spoken to tech support twice and a customer rep at a physical store, no help whatsoever.

I'm looking to import the international HTC One X but will not do so if I am stuck with Edge speeds.

My wife has an old, unlocked iPhone 3g.  I put my SIM in it yesterday, switched 3g to on along with roaming and did not notice any improvement in speed whatsoever. So, as of right now, Boston Ma is definitely NOT receiving 3g over the 1900 MHz frequency.

If I can remember their rolling out scheme it wouldn't happen there till later this year. If the phone is unlocked/jailbroken it would pull up 3G on 1900. If you use an unlocked phone that tunes in 1900MHz on 3G it would usually stay at an X and not register. Roaming turned on would not be needed.

During the refarm period there is another possibility. 2G/3G may register on 3G 1900. However, that means that the towers can turn on for 3G 1900 but that the spectrum has not been converted over but that it is currently being worked on. Once its converted over it would then be on 3G instead of 2G broadcasting as a duplicate on 3G 1900.

Is nyc a candidate for Refarming ?

T Mobile USA will be refarming their current 1900 MHz band from 2g to 3g, so yes.  Supposedly, by the end of the year we should all have 3g data with any cell that operates 3g on that band (iPhone, One X, etc).

If a city (Tmo will most likely start with the top 20-30 markets first) has atleast 30MHz AWS (1700+2100) & 30MHz PCS (1900) then that city should be lit up this year. Places with less than 30MHz AWS spectrum probably wont get LTE (atleast in 2012), but should get HSPA+ over 1900 tho (Tmo has a good amount of 1900 nationwide--an avg. of 25-30MHz).

Is nyc a candidate for Refarming ?

Yes that is probably going to one of the major areas that gets refarmed due to the traffic problems carriers have had before.

Anywhere that got the 10MHz spectrum will receive LTE 72 beginning in 2013 most likely and the rest that JHOP said.

If the FCC blocks this Verizon 20MHz AWS purchase. It is possible that T-Mobile since they have 60MHz on average of spectrum. Unlike Verizon 88MHz of spectrum. That would give them 80MHz. They would probably use more for HSPA+ over AWS and LTE later of at least 10MHz of that.

Is nyc a candidate for Refarming ?

Yes that is probably going to one of the major areas that gets refarmed due to the traffic problems carriers have had before.

Anywhere that got the 10MHz spectrum will receive LTE 72 beginning in 2013 most likely and the rest that JHOP said.

If the FCC blocks this Verizon 20MHz AWS purchase. It is possible that T-Mobile since they have 60MHz on average of spectrum. Unlike Verizon 88MHz of spectrum. That would give them 80MHz. They would probably use more for HSPA+ over AWS and LTE later of at least 10MHz of that.

Above says "50% of 4G POPS to have 20MHz LTE at launch." Im not sure if Tmo will use 10MHz LTE in cities with only 20MHz of AWS (since Tmo WILL be using both HSPA+ & LTE on AWS). Atleast not at launch. But Tmo IS hunting for more AWS tho (they already have a deal with LEAP/Cricket for AWS in a few areas). Hopefully Tmo will successfully block the Verizon deal with the Cable/Sat. companies for AWS and receive that.

Then why not just launch LTE 144 if your using 20MHz and get ahead.

Which means they are taking 10MHz of their AWS and using it too.

Theres one other thing that can really hurt them and thats if it passes that satellite spectrum has to be relocated within its range too.

Then why not just launch LTE 144 if your using 20MHz and get ahead.

Which means they are taking 10MHz of their AWS and using it too.

Theres one other thing that can really hurt them and thats if it passes that satellite spectrum has to be relocated within its range too.

We will see in the coming months.

If I was T-Mobile I would leap frog over the competitors and just go straight to the newest version so that they don't have to waste time and money in the future and go back and update the towers. Also it will be more efficient spectrum wise and they could promote their network as being newer faster and more reliable.

Eventually they can promote we have 2 4G networks. Unlike our other competitors you have something to always rely on.

I definitely can't wait for the refarming. But with it comes a personal dilemma: The pocketable size of the Lumia 800 or the lovely screen on the Lumia 900 - hmmmm. That is, unless Tmo calls out to me with another WP device I may be interested in

I have several questions about the refarming.

1) When it's done, will devices that require 1900 Mhz HSPA+ have as good coverage as devices with AWS HSPA+? Or will it still be preferable to have an AWS device?

2) Is coverage or bandwidth for AWS HSPA+ devices going to get worse?

3) Will there be some point at which AWS moves entirely over to LTE and all HSPA+ is 1900 Mhz? Will new T-Mobile branded devices only have 1900 Mhz HSPA+? And will older AWS HSPA+ devices have to be replaced eventually?

Thanks for any information.

1.) Turn off your 3G/HSPA+, and you will get EDGE, which uses 1900 band. That should give you a good indiaction. But generally yes, HSPA+ over 1900 will have better building penetration than AWS.

2.) AWS HSPA+ shouldn't be affected coverage wise even. Bandwidth wise i'm unsure right now since Tmo WILL be adding LTE over AWS. Tmo currently uses (depending on location) 10x10(20MHz) for DC-HSPA+ (42 mbps) and 5x5(10MHz) for HSPA+ (21 mbps). If Tmo has enough spectrum in a market like my city Seattle (no less than 40MHz), Tmo will use 10x10(20MHz) DC-HSPA+ AND 10x10(20MHz) LTE. But I believe Tmo will start LTE at 5x5 in most markets initially. More details should come soon.

3.) Maybe. Tmo will have to COMPLETELY shut down their GSM/2G network so they can fully use 1900 for DC-HSPA+. That'll give them some breathing room for LTE over AWS since Tmo can shrink HSPA+ over AWS and not be penalized for it, and increase LTE over AWS in areas that were limited to only 5x5(10MHz). Remember, Tmo has an average of 20MHz of AWS in alot of markets. Some more than 20MHz.

Hope that helps you out a bit.

1. The coverage that you receive today over 2G 1900 will be just about the same as it. You'll notice a bit of less signal but will be greater than the AWS (1700) HSPA+ 42 network T-Mobile has. It will also be faster. Areas that DO NOT have HSPA+ 42 at all will receive it in the refarm. It would actually be best to upgrade to a device that does include 850/1900 bands. The markets that have HSPA+ 21 still due to spectrum constraint will finally get HSPA+ 42 on 1900. Phase 1 indicates that T-Mobile split HSPA+ 42 into 2 bands. Phase 2 indicates T-Mobile add more capacity to 1900 HSPA+ 42 and lessen 2G GSM spectrum down to a range of 5-10MHz. LTE AWS (1700) will have 2x capacity. Eventually LTE will fully take up the AWS band while HSPA+ takes ups all of the PCS band.

2. In the beginning it will in some areas. T-Mobile has an estimated 25-30MHz on average in most markets of AWS. In Phase 1 50% of the market will get the 10MHz (144) LTE and the other half will get just 5MHz (72) to began with. Its 25MHz PCS & 35MHz AWS. It was 25MHz before AT&T lost. A city like Seattle will get 10MHz (144) pretty much thats 2x more than spectrum than Verizon uses. I don't think they have any 144M networks even installed just 72M. So in the end it won't make too much difference in most markets. 20MHz HSPA+ + 10MHz LTE = 30MHz used on AWS. As of right now 30MHz would give you 1000M on LTE-A. But 20MHz of spectrum for LTE does 300M also.

3. Either 2014 or 2015 is when thats going to come. I would expect that to happen by 2015. Eventually they will need to be replaced.

NOTE: I expect that T-Mobile will come into some spectrum soon. Anywhere between 10MHz - 20MHz. Now lets wait and see what happens.

EDIT: Documentation shows that networks are at a new speed spec. 10MHz on LTE-A could = 330M now on LTE vs 10MHz = 100M as before.

Glad to see you're still around Viper. I mainly come here to update the Upcoming Phones thread, which helps me out remembering what phones are coming out. But damn it is dead here. Wonder where everyone went? T-Mobile.com forums? lol

Well that & I think a bunch of people left the carrier completely and onto somewhere else sadly.

I do have a question tho. Why does the Samsung Galaxy Note II have AT&T LTE Roaming?

Well that & I think a bunch of people left the carrier completely and onto somewhere else sadly.

I do have a question tho. Why does the Samsung Galaxy Note II have AT&T LTE Roaming?

Yea I miss the old small little community we had here for a couple of years =(  .. What have you been up to?
But yea, I have no clue. I guess its more of not having alot of different variants. Easier to have the whole package. Plus Samsung has more say and cant be pushed around by the US Cartel Carriers as before. That's my guess. I'm not complaining atleast.

Well that & I think a bunch of people left the carrier completely and onto somewhere else sadly.

I do have a question tho. Why does the Samsung Galaxy Note II have AT&T LTE Roaming?

Yea I miss the old small little community we had here for a couple of years =(  .. What have you been up to?
But yea, I have no clue. I guess its more of not having alot of different variants. Easier to have the whole package. Plus Samsung has more say and cant be pushed around by the US Cartel Carriers as before. That's my guess. I'm not complaining atleast.

The 20MHz in the chart below will come after the initialization of Phase 1. Nothing much really. Trying to get alot of rest.

Well that & I think a bunch of people left the carrier completely and onto somewhere else sadly.

I do have a question tho. Why does the Samsung Galaxy Note II have AT&T LTE Roaming?

Yea I miss the old small little community we had here for a couple of years =(  .. What have you been up to?
But yea, I have no clue. I guess its more of not having alot of different variants. Easier to have the whole package. Plus Samsung has more say and cant be pushed around by the US Cartel Carriers as before. That's my guess. I'm not complaining atleast.

The 20MHz in the chart below will come after the initialization of Phase 1. Nothing much really. Trying to get alot of rest.

Oh ok. Hopefully you feel/get better. And what chart below?