T-Mobile Offers HSPA+ Network On Unlocked iPhone 5

As Apple’s iPhone 5 set records with its pre-orders, T-Mobile has introduced a network designed to provide high data rates on the unlocked iPhones. The iPhones went on sale, this past Friday.

T-Mobile occupies the fourth place as a major carrier in the US. Friday onwards, they introduced a commercial service on an HSPA+ network, using frequencies around 1900MHz, in Las Vegas. This is only available on the unlocked versions of the iPhone 5. With the right radio, the HSPA+ network is capable of delivering an average download speed of anything between 8Mbps to 10Mbps, similar to the services offered by the LTE technology. T-Mobile plans to convert the slower and older GSM network into a newer system.

Currently; Las Vegas is the first city to be able to avail of this service which is slated to be introduced into other markets by the year end. Neville Ray of T-Mobile made an announcement of this launch during the GigaOm Mobilize conference which took place in San Francisco. This is a move by T-Mobile in their attempt to become a successful carrier of the iPhone without having to actually strike a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone 5 in their stores. It also allows T-Mobile to demonstrate the iPhone in their stores and continue developing apps such as voicemail and billing for the iOS. Though they do not sell iPhones currently, T-Mobile intends on bringing in more iPhones to their network, confirmed Ray.

According to estimates, there are over 1 million unlocked iPhones on T-Mobile’s network already. Though it may not be the top carrier, it promises to offer its customers unlimited data and better deals on services. While solely focusing on introducing the HSPA+ network into markets this year, T-Mobile intends to commercially launch their LTE service sometime next year. This new developed network will be built using the LTE Advanced system, version 10 of the standard. It is expected to provide faster performance as compared to the current HSPA+ network, as admitted by Ray. However, he refused to predict the speed of the to-be developed network.

This move by T-Mobile will hopefully effectively help them in becoming a successful carrier of the iPhone 5 and compete with the other major carriers in the US market.