Deutsche Telekom rolls out its first UMTS/HSDPA network in the USA

T-Mobile has rolled out its first UMTS/HSDPA network in the United States. The company announced that T-Mobile USA customers in New York were now able to transfer data four times faster than was previously the case. Users with suitable mobile phones can now expect speeds of between 200 and 300Kbps rather than the previous 50 to 80Kbps. A T-Mobile spokesperson said that in fact, 600Kbps is theoretically possible, but requires an HSDPA device and these will not be available until the summer.

New York is the first of 20 to 25 population centres in the USA that T-Mobile plans to cover by the end of the year. The company acquired the frequencies for $4.2bn in an auction held by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2006. At the time, Scandinavian network equipment suppliers Ericsson and Nokia were awarded contracts to build the new WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) mobile phone networks. Approximately €2.1bn was set aside for the construction of the American 3G networks.

(trk)