T-Mobile USA Plans HSPA+ Upgrades for Next Year

According to the latest news around the Internet, wireless carrier T-Mobile is getting ready to boost the speed of its 3G network to 21 Mbps. While the upgrade to HSPA+ should enable the company to provide theoretical speeds of 21 Mbps, its users won't be able to enjoy it this year, but only in 2010. One way or the other, the carrier is definitely getting ready to increase the network speed.

The first step in this direction should be the roll-out of HSPA 7.2, which has already been announced by the company's CTO Cole Brodman, and which should deliver theoretical downlink speeds of 7.2 Mbps. The HSPA 7.2 is expected to begin being deployed by the end of the ongoing year, leaving for 2010 the upgrade to HSPA+ for even higher speeds.

The mobile phone carrier seems to have already made the first steps in the network speed enhancements area, yet this might not be the only thing that it is preparing for its users. As many of you may know, the company is working on extending its coverage in the country. While in August, T-Mobile stated that it could deliver coverage for 176 cities and 121 million people, it also said that it planned to add 100 more cities to the list before the year's end, and to deliver coverage to 200 million people.

For what it's worth, T-Mobile is not the only carrier that announces plans to enhance its network performance and coverage. AT&T already stated it started deploying HSPA 7.2 upgrades in six cities around the country, while adding that it intended to deploy it in 90 percent of its 3G footprint by the end of 2011. At the same time, Canadian mobile phone carrier Rogers Wireless unveiled on Monday the commercial launch of its HSPA+ network in five major cities in the country, including Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.