T-Mobile rumored to be readying Android phone for 3G launch

Word in the blogosphere is that T-Mobile USA will include a Google Android phone as part of its nationwide 3G wireless network launch later this year.

Several blogs reported Monday that T-Mobile is set to offer service in some 20-plus cities starting October 1. And the carrier plans to include the HTC Dream smartphone as one of its first 3G phones to launch with the network, according to reports.

T-Mobile started offering 3G service in New York City in May. And the company said at the launch it would roll out the service in other top markets by the end of the year. Separately, T-Mobile has said it will be offering an Android handset in the fourth quarter, which many believe will be the HTC Dream. But until now, the 3G network launch and the availability of the Android handset were not linked.

Now the rumor mill is churning that T-Mobile will offer the new Android phone along with three others including, the Sony Ericsson Z780, a high-end Samsung camera phone, and possibly the Motorola ZINE ZN5.

A T-Mobile spokeswoman reiterated that T-Mobile expects to launch the 3G service in 20 to 25 markets by the end of 2008, but she wouldn't specify when these cities would go live. As for the talk of the HTC Android phone launching with the 3G network, she said that T-Mobile doesn't comment on rumors.

T-Mobile, which is a distant fourth place in the U.S. wireless market with about 29 million customers at the end of December, spent more than $4 billion to buy spectrum in the 2006 Advanced Wireless Service auction held by the Federal Communications Commission. The new spectrum more than doubled the company's spectrum offering and finally gave it the necessary bandwidth to build a high-speed wireless network.

The nationwide roll-out should help the company compete more directly with other major carriers such as AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Sprint Nextel.

Some of the other cities where T-Mobile is expected to offer its 3G service by the end of the year, include: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Memphis,Tenn.; Miami; Minneapolis; Long Island, N.Y.; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Sacramento, Calif.; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Tampa, Fla.; and Washington, D.C.

Android is a new mobile operating system that's being developed by Google. Recently, a report in The Wall Street Journal indicated that the new software had hit some snags and phones using the operating system wouldn't be ready until the fourth quarter instead of being available in the third quarter.

[aka_tripleB]

A roll-out of 3G network will not do much to catch up to the other carriers. Once T-mobile finishes its roll-out, the others will have begun their roll-out of 4G networks, and T-mobile will be even farther behide than it is now. It should skip 3G and move to 4G to keep pace with everyone else.

[NYChief]

Not true - 4G is not close to reality and the current applications available for 3G are limited at best. For Business there are virtually no 3G applications - you can't justify watching TV on your Blackberry as a business application. They are right on target. Not to mention if you consider the fact you can use their WiFi devices to make calls - and no other carrier can - then they are actually industry leaders with industry changing technology.

[gerrrg]

If by 4G you mean LTE, well that's a long ways off, given that there is no finalization of specs and even further out for devices. And we're not talking next year either. Maybe 2010.

If by 4G you mean WiMAX, well Sprint/Clearwire is the only entity in the US that is rolling out nationwide coverage. Who is to say that T-Mobile won't buy out Sprint/Clearwire?

The key is Android - will it prove to be the killer alternative to iPhone and AT&T? If so, T-Mobile definitely planned 3G right. If not, then maybe it should have jumped into bed with WiMAX. But skip 3G for LTE? I doubt that makes any sense - they need to maintain subscriber growth - waiting for LTE will absolutely kill T-Mobile.

[aka_tripleB]

When the new iPhone will be out later this week, and T-mobile without a 3G network, let alone one that won't be outside major cities for some time, T-mobile did not plan 3G right. And given that the Android phone won't be exclusive to T-mobile, it won't do anything if someone else has a wider 3G network. So, T-mobile would have to either land an exclusive deal with Google or be the first with 4G. Moving to WiMax would be as dumb as Sprint buying Nextel, but 2010 is only 1.5 years away. Enough time to make a foot-hold in major cities, but not enough to establish a complete network before someone starts a 4G network. At which point, everyone who wants the Android phone moves to that network. The best thing for T-mobile to do is enter a deal with AT&T to use its 3G network in cities and help roll-out 3G to rural areas in exchange to help build a 4G network for a limited time. T-mobile can't stay competitive by running behind everyone, it needs to find a way to be brought back into this race. And that might only be accomplished with a deal with AT&T or maybe Alltel. Even then it's not a guarantee that T-mobile will still be in business in the US two years from now.

[HaveSomeTea]

I am REALLY looking forward to getting an android phone but I will NOT want T-Mobile as my wireless provider UGH! Gimme Verizon YEAH!

[jeitzen]

iPhone Friday... Or android god knows when. Man I wish they had already released it.

[Seaspray0]

It would be nice if the prototypes were available for review. Then we'd get a clearer picture on what capability android has.

[dirty55409]

This is all speculative of course. But my opinion from a strictly consumer biased T-mobile customer POV is that 3g will be a good thing overall for T-mobile. As an investment, we'll see. Their pricing might have a lot to do with it. Along with service fees. Will 3G be a different data plan than the current EDGE plan? Most likely and if that cost is comparable to the EDGE plan, I don't see why most of us wouldn't gladly switch. (like going from dialup to cable if they cost about the same) If they overcharge for 3G customers will be reluctant. We're a stingy yet loyal bunch. I'm not sure why some people absolutely loathe T-mobile. Bad coverage in your area? Bad call quality? Maybe those are specific to people's geographic location. Here in Minneapolis, MN, I have better service than friends with AT&T and some of them have switched. Then again, some friends who have Verizon/Sprint, and that group is split into the love and hate categories as well. What I don't think people understand is that a great functioning device can be just as important as the carrier paired with it. I hope google works out all the bugs in their android software(I've heard bad things) and it gets them off the ground in mobile software development. This IS googles first venture into this ring hopefully they don't get KO'd in the first round.

[Gem0521]

If this is true I'm super excited! Yippie!

Love T-mobile! Best customer service ever! Oh and I have awesome coverage wherever I go.

[strykernyc]

WOW t-mobile is wayyyy behind. wimax will be available in the entire US this year and I already own a laptop with wimax buildin :) btw I can watch youtube video on my pocketpc phone with zero lag :)
t-mobile is garbage. i send text msg using t-mobile and the receiver get the msg hrs or days later and many time they never receive the text msg. And funny how i called a t-mobile phone and someone else on a totally different number pickup... what is up with that??? t-mobile has been improving but it will never be compare to sprint/verizon.
btw you typical cellphone users are saying t-mobile has the best customer service allll because when u call to fix a problem or error t-mobile always give u free minutes or credit etc... obviously this is the reason but that doesnt fix their crappy network. I have never never ever not once have had a problem with the sprint or verizon network and therefore I don't have a reason to call customer service. I would never forget how I was getting up to 500 free mins from tmobile just because of the problems I had with their network. lets not forget t-mobile was Voistream and before that it had another name but i forgot LOL

[Galenn20K]

T-Mobile Rules!!! It is Soooo Much Better Coverage in Michigan than Any Other Carrier HANDS Down!!!!

And with this More than Doubling their Spectrum, it's Only going to get Better and SOon!!!!

I couldnt be MORE happy with TMo, Been with them over 8 years now and Plan on Sticking with them even tho I havent even have had a Contract for Years, I STILL Stay with them because of such great Service and Exciting Plans this year makes it Even better!

WHoot!!!! - D

[Galenn20K]

T-Mobile Rules!!! It is Soooo Much Better Coverage in Michigan than Any Other Carrier HANDS Down!!!!

And with this More than Doubling their Spectrum, it's Only going to get Better and SOon!!!!

I couldnt be MORE happy with TMo, Been with them over 8 years now and Plan on Sticking with them even tho I havent even have had a Contract for Years, I STILL Stay with them because of such great Service and Exciting Plans this year makes it Even better!

WHoot!!!! - D

[Galenn20K]

Sorry for the Dual Post, didnt think it went through the first time

[gerrrg]

strykernyc, I believe you're mistaken.

Clearwire/Sprint will not reach even halfway towards nationwide coverage for WiMax for at least another couple years. For me, I don't care. I'm not going to use WiMax for VOIP (at least in the near future) - I'm going to use it for my anywhere internet connection (and bypass both coax and copper - forget fios, they're slow to expand beyond their current market base), so it does not matter who my cell phone company is (T-Mobile as a matter of fact). It also helps that I'm in the market where the earliest true WiMax is going to be rolled out. The existing markets Clearwire serves is considered pre-WiMax, so they're considerably slower than the real deal. For more information on Clearwire/Sprint's WiMax, take a look at their SEC filings from this past June.

Also, ALL cell phone service companies give you minutes if you have a complaint - I used to be with Sprint, and when I called, they would offer extra minutes.

[LunaticSX]

It's too bad T-Mobile bought their 3G spectrum at 1700 Mhz (uplink)/2100 MHz (downlink). That means the choices of 3G phones that'll work on T-Mobile are always going to be more limited. All the European and Japanese phones are going to come out at 1900/2100 MHz first, and maybe 850 MHz if they want to be multi-band. 1700 MHz is always going to be an afterthought, and T-Mobile is going to have to petition and make deals with manufacturers to get phones that support it. Even though 1700 MHz is an official 3G band, I think T-Mobile in the U.S. is the only company in the world who's actually deployed a 3G network at that frequency. (Others around the world have bought spectrum at 1700 MHz, but I don't think they've deployed networks on it yet.)

[tvphil]

T-mobile didn't have a choice, that's all the FCC would give them for 3g.Personally, 3g is fast enough for me and I believe most people. If the Dream offers tmo@home via wifi, even better. Say what you want about TMO, if there is one thing they beat everyone else at, it's total price. I hope they continue that practice with their 3g data plan, whatever that may be. In the meantime, I'll hold on to my badly outdated Nokia 6103 until Oct.1.

[PeauBrune]

Say what you want, but my T-Mobile service is pretty good. I switched from Sprint, which has THE WORST service in my market. I have coverage everywhere with my T-mobile service. The one place I have service issues is in my basement. Very easy fix since my phone works on the wi-fi network anyway. Better phones would be good. However, I'm a blackberry user, so I could care less. As I said, my phone is wi-fi enabled so speed isn't an issue for me.

[Danny Mendez]

I can't wait I have T-Mobile and thought it was a huge mistake, but now I'm second thoughts of switching. I just wish they had more phones.