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Network Modernization

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone knew what network modernization meant for us as phone buyers. I am really interested in picking up an S3, but want to continue to use my web2go/tzones plan. I was considering buying either an AT&T or international version and saw http://blog.t-mobile.com/2012/06/14/fast-progress-on-4g-network-modernization/ this article and was wondering the implications. Will the 1900 replace the 1700 in HSPA+? Does that mean phones that work on AT&T(1900/2100) will now work on Tmobile(1700/2100)?
Thanks for any info you guys can provide!

That is correct. Once the refarm is complete we will be able to use phones with the international att bands at full speeds on tmobile. 1700/2100 will be used for LTE
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

I would not get the AT&T or International version just yet. It is quite likely that you will experience slow speeds due to lack of proper frequency support at this time. Eventually T-Mobile's HSPA will be moved over to the 1900 band, however, this is a transition, not a on/off type of thing. There will still be HSPA on 1700 bands for well over a year from now, probably more like two. I think it will be a mix of 1900/1700 bands for HSPA in a couple of years, with LTE in the 1700 band exclusively. So, if you get the AT&T version now, you should hope that your city or region is one of the first for the transition, and don't plan to have good support while traveling. If you are on T-Mobile, you will have to choose great HSPA support now with no LTE ever (T-Mobile version), or no HSPA support now, and maybe some mixed LTE and HSPA support down the road (AT&T version; no LTE on International version).
I would personally get the T-Mobile version if I were you. LTE is not going away, and there will be plenty of LTE phones on T-Mobile in a couple of years. But HSPA has great speeds now, and will still have decent speeds in a couple of years.

The T-Mobile version already supports HSPA+ over 1900 MHz..so it's ready if you're planning on using it on Tmobile.

Just when I thought about dumping T-Mobile, looks like they might be heading in the right direction.
T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S3 SGH-T999 Tapatalk 2

Can I use unlocked ATT S3 on tmobile $30 monthly 4g?

I am reading it might work on edge only is that true?

Different Bands... no 4g, just E... Maybe someone know more than me but IMO you cant use 4g

You can use the phone but you will be restricted to Edge data speeds. ATT and Tmo use different freq bands for 3G/HSPA.
ATT uses 850/1900
Tmo uses 1700/2100
You may be able to get 3G/HSPA speeds once Tmo refarms its 2G bands as 3G, but who know when that will be.

You will only get EDGE in MOST areas, T-Mobile is "re-farming" the 1900mhz spectrum from 2g to 3g/HSPA. They are doing this in order to be able to use the iPhone on their network, but it would have the same effect for any unlocked phone. They say they'll have their entire network re-farmed by the end of next year. I haven't found an official map, but this has places where it has been sighted: http://www.airportal.de/

dj_spore said:
You will only get EDGE in MOST areas, T-Mobile is "re-farming" the 1900mhz spectrum from 2g to 3g/HSPA. They are doing this in order to be able to use the iPhone on their network, but it would have the same effect for any unlocked phone. They say they'll have their entire network re-farmed by the end of next year. I haven't found an official map, but this has places where it has been sighted: http://www.airportal.de/
Click to expand...
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Looks like there are many spots in Bay Area, CA.

I tried this on my att S3 and got the sim card and was on the phone with tmobile tech for hours...it never worked and he was trying to tell me it was my phone....not...my phone works great with straight talk.

It definitely works on the AT&T phones. I unlocked mine and bought a tmobile prepaid sim the other day. Able to get 3g in San Jose but still only Edge where I live. Will be switching and dropping at&T once the refarm hits my area.
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i live in brooklyn ,NY and i get t-mobile 4g on my at&t s3 i get about 10mbps down and about 1.5 up

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msgnyc said:
You can use the phone but you will be restricted to Edge data speeds. ATT and Tmo use different freq bands for 3G/HSPA.
ATT uses 850/1900
Tmo uses 1700/2100
You may be able to get 3G/HSPA speeds once Tmo refarms its 2G bands as 3G, but who know when that will be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a unlocked phone right now...is there any way to change how the phone receives the freq.??
My phone is asus padfone 2
LTE/WCDMA
HSPA+ UL:5.76 Mbps/DL:21 Mbps
LTE UL:50 Mbps/DL:100 Mbps
3G :
WCDMA :
900/2100
2G :
EDGE/GPRS/GSM : 850/900/1800/1900,
4G:
LTE:
800/1800/2600

What does this mean...?

when I go through the specs for the AT&T and Tmobile variants for the note 2, I come across a difference in the following
AT&T,
GSM Quad-band: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Tmobile
Frequencies and Data Type GSM Quad-band: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz UMTS: Band I ,band II, Band IV (Dual-band1700/2100 MHz), Band V
What does the dual band mean? Is it for Tmobiles 4G network?
I thought all the Note 2's in the US had the same LTE radio
please shed some light,
thanks

1700 MHz/2100 MHz UMTS (WCDMA) AWS is currently T-Mobile's 4G network.
T-Mobile will have LTE up and running sometime within next year (2013).
Yes T-Mobile Galaxy Note 2 devices do have LTE. But it is now not activated. T-Mobile will activate the LTE within T-Mobile's Galaxy Note 2 when they get their LTE service up and running within your area.
How to activate the LTE and running on another carrier is a good question. This I get bits and pieces. But not a full step-by-step process yet.

The T-Mobile Note II is pentaband; it will work on AT&T and T-Mobile 3G/4G (not LTE though as of now). I think that's what you're getting at.

Product F(RED) said:
The T-Mobile Note II is pentaband; it will work on AT&T and T-Mobile 3G/4G (not LTE though as of now). I think that's what you're getting at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that we can get the LTE up and running with other carriers. I know that I got LTE working on my GN2 (SGH-T889). We just need to learn how to get the LTE running with other carriers. That is really the question. When we figure that out then this might be able to be applied to other GN2 devices.

Tmobile hasnt turned on lte yet. From what i understand once they do our note 2's should be able to utilize it.

winlinmac001 said:
What does the dual band mean? Is it for Tmobiles 4G network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tmobile uses 42.2 mbps dual channel hsdpa.
Afaik, At&t uses 21.1 mbps hsdpa.
Lte(long term evolution) is a different technology not yet active for Tmobile customers.
Real World, my friend with a Galaxy nexus on Tmobile network gets about 8mbps while I get 14mbps. Galaxy nexus has the 21.1mbps capable modem.

konceptz said:
Tmobile uses 42.2 mbps dual channel hsdpa.
Afaik, At&t uses 21.1 mbps hsdpa.
Lte(long term evolution) is a different technology not yet active for Tmobile customers.
Real World, my friend with a Galaxy nexus on Tmobile network gets about 8mbps while I get 14mbps. Galaxy nexus has the 21.1mbps capable modem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're talking about something called DC-HSPA (Dual Channel/Carrier), which is basically what you said: Using 2 frequencies of HSPA(+) to achieve basically double the throughput.

Is it a hardware limitation (as in slightly modified Qualcomm LTE Chipset) in the AT&T Note 2 that 42mbps is not supported compared to T-Mobiles version? Or it is software / firmware-controlled?

winlinmac001 said:
Is it a hardware limitation (as in slightly modified Qualcomm LTE Chipset) in the AT&T Note 2 that 42mbps is not supported compared to T-Mobiles version? Or it is software / firmware-controlled?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be software (on the modem level, which is low-level stuff and separate from the ROM); T-Mobile's Galaxy S II was basically AT&T's Skyrocket with LTE disabled. You could actually flash a T-Mobile S2's modem onto a Skyrocket to get it to work on T-Mobile frequencies (but you can't get LTE enabled on the T-Mobile S II as far as I know).

would you say the note 2 from verizon is any better since it also includes a CDMA radio? Also, though LTE only works in the upper 700 frequency, any change a modem update or firmware change will allow the verizon version to work on T-mobile or AT&T network?

winlinmac001 said:
would you say the note 2 from verizon is any better since it also includes a CDMA radio? Also, though LTE only works in the upper 700 frequency, any change a modem update or firmware change will allow the verizon version to work on T-mobile or AT&T network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No; CDMA is useless unless you're going to be using it on the carrier it came from. I'd say the T-Mobile version is the best (in terms of working with the most networks), then the AT&T version (because it has LTE), then the International version (because it's the AT&T version without LTE), and after that the Verizon one because Sprint are jerks because they use "embedded SIMs".

[Q] Should I get ATT or TMobile GS3

So I am looking to switch to T-Mobile from sprint and want to get the S3. I understand the T-Mobile GS3 works on HSPA+ and operates on the 1700 Band. I also see that the T-Mobile version does not have LTE. Now the ATT version operates on the 1900 Band and will only work on slower speeds until T-Mobile activates the 1900 Band here. Spoke to several reps and they state sometime this month. Will the ATT GS3 have the LTE that will work on T-Mobile when they activate it? So would it be better for me to get an ATT GS3 so that I have LTE when it becomes available? Thanks in advanced

mastercpt said:
So I am looking to switch to T-Mobile from sprint and want to get the S3. I understand the T-Mobile GS3 works on HSPA+ and operates on the 1700 Band. I also see that the T-Mobile version does not have LTE. Now the ATT version operates on the 1900 Band and will only work on slower speeds until T-Mobile activates the 1900 Band here. Spoke to several reps and they state sometime this month. Will the ATT GS3 have the LTE that will work on T-Mobile when they activate it? So would it be better for me to get an ATT GS3 so that I have LTE when it becomes available? Thanks in advanced
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have Tmobile and it works ok, It depends on the service coverage cause where I live I don't get 4G on any carrier lol.

That's a tough question to answer. Is it a matter of want or need LTE on your mobile device?
Arguably, at&t has better service than t mobile. But since t mobile is still at the stage of refarming their antennas/towers, Tmo could be just the same as their counterpart after its done. I have t mobile and coverage has been excellent. Data speeds are speedy but not quite as fast as at&t's LTE.
On HSPA+, i get great to decent speeds that can get all of my mobile needs online. It would be a plus to have LTE but i don't need it.
Do you get what i trying to get at?
Sorry i had to write this quickly.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

mastercpt said:
So I am looking to switch to T-Mobile from sprint and want to get the S3. I understand the T-Mobile GS3 works on HSPA+ and operates on the 1700 Band. I also see that the T-Mobile version does not have LTE. Now the ATT version operates on the 1900 Band and will only work on slower speeds until T-Mobile activates the 1900 Band here. Spoke to several reps and they state sometime this month. Will the ATT GS3 have the LTE that will work on T-Mobile when they activate it? So would it be better for me to get an ATT GS3 so that I have LTE when it becomes available? Thanks in advanced
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I say go for the Tmobile S3. T-mobile's LTE rollout won't be for a long while, and even when it does become available we don't know if it uses the same LTE band as ATT. My guess is that it won't. Tmobile's HSPA+ is plenty fast where I live for all my needs. You will only get EDGE (2G) speeds with TMobile on the ATT version of the S3 until Tmobile refarms their network. But even if they do refarm where you live by the end of the month, the many other places will still only be covered with the 1700 spectrum.

S3 on Edge is a pointless phone. Even with the 1900 mhz bands rolling out, your data will be spotty at BEST. Even in NYC Manhattan, the 1900 mhz bands are probably 20% complete. Go with the TMO version and you won't regret it.

I get up to 25mbps I average about 7-12 who cares about LTE? Go with T-Mo its cheaper and you will get faster speeds. At my home I get faster data speeds than my baby mama on ATT with her HoX soon to be OG Note
sent from my Samsung Gangster S III on the T-Mobile network

I also have the same dilemma.
If T-Mobile will use LTE on the same frequency as ATT currently does, won't using the ATT SGS3 future proof it for LTE on T-Mobile network?
Am I missing something or do these devices have same specs (except T-Mo having 1700) once 3G moves to 1900 on T-Mo?
OP, I suggest you test T-Mo's network for coverage and speed in your area. I will be doing the same.

Get the T-Mobile version if you value fast data speed.
Don't buy a phone and hoping that it will have the correct technology to work on a network that has not even start to build yet.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

[Q] I9500 S4 on American Tmobile Network with missing 1700 Frequency

I live in America and was thinking about ordering the S4 GT-i9500 for Wolfson Audio chip reason. I wanted to use Tmobile because they have the best prices. I saw that the i9500 network is:
Network: 2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE): 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz; 3G (HSPA+ 42Mbps): 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
And from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-Mobile_US#HSPA.2FHSPA.2B_.224G.22_upgrade, I see that HSPA+ uses 1700/2100 Mhz. It also saids:
Band IV AWS consists of the 1700 / 2100 MHz band pair. Data is transmitted upstream on 1700 MHz and downstream on 2100 MHz. A device must support both frequencies to access T-Mobile's AWS data services.
I don't understand, but sellers on ebay are claiming i9500 will work with Tmobile's 4G in America. How would the i9500 work on the American Tmobile network if it doesn't use the 1700 frequency? What would be the draw back?

Tmobile is refarming its 1900Mhz band for hspa+. If you're in an area that has it you could get 4G with that and pretty good speeds. You won't get LTE and if you're in an area without the 1900 you'll get 2g speeds.

Here's a more technical explanation.
T-Mobile used to exclusively use the AWS (1700/2100) spectrum for DC-HSPA+42mbps. They are currently refarming this for LTE use.
HSPA+21mbps is being moved to the 1900mhz spectrum. So, in areas that have been refarmed, you will have HSPA+ access (NOTE, no 42mbps). In areas that are not refarmed, you'll be limited to EDGE service.
I have a Galaxy S2 GT-i9100, so I have the same limitation. I signed up with T-Mobile about 2 months ago and on a weekly basis, I'm seeing towers refarmed. They intend to have it nearly completed by end of 2013, thus limiting the areas you'll be on Edge only. Eventually, their entire 1900mhz network will be HSPA+ 21, with their AWS network being LTE.

jaykresge said:
Here's a more technical explanation.
...you will have HSPA+ access (NOTE, no 42mbps).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If not 42mbps, what speed?

dman777 said:
If not 42mbps, what speed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Their HSPA+ network on 1900mhz is limited to 21mbps.
Basically, their network prior to refarming was:
1900mhz (PCS) - EDGE
1700/2100mhz (AWS) - DC-HSPA+ 42mbps
They have since acquired a TON of PCS and AWS spectrum from; failed AT&T merger, Verizon spectrum swap, and MetroPCS merger.
This will allow them to expand to new markets currently not served, as well as expand bandwidth in existing markets. So, their current plans are to refarm the network to;
1900mhz (PCS) - HSPA+ 21mbps
1700/2100mhz (AWS) - LTE
There will be some limited spectrum for the old EDGE (PCS) and DC-HSPA+ 42 (AWS) available for legacy devices, but that will eventually (at least 2020, most likely) go away. The goal is to have LTE over their core network by mid-2014, and HSPA+ 21mbps being the expanded fallback network. T-Mobile will also be taking part in the 600mhz auction in mid-2014. Their network plans will be made more clear (VoLTE, LTE-A) after that auction. Lower frequencies allow for better building penetration. T-Mobile is currently silently lobbying the FCC (through other groups) to remove Verizon and AT&T from that spectrum auction for the sake of competition.

jaykresge said:
Here's a more technical explanation.
T-Mobile used to exclusively use the AWS (1700/2100) spectrum for DC-HSPA+42mbps. They are currently refarming this for LTE use.
HSPA+21mbps is being moved to the 1900mhz spectrum. So, in areas that have been refarmed, you will have HSPA+ access (NOTE, no 42mbps). In areas that are not refarmed, you'll be limited to EDGE service.
I have a Galaxy S2 GT-i9100, so I have the same limitation. I signed up with T-Mobile about 2 months ago and on a weekly basis, I'm seeing towers refarmed. They intend to have it nearly completed by end of 2013, thus limiting the areas you'll be on Edge only. Eventually, their entire 1900mhz network will be HSPA+ 21, with their AWS network being LTE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so eventually you'll be able to access the 21mb range? Thus, if in a refarmed area, you could get 21mb with a i9500?

For explanatory purposes: Ever noticed how, if connected to a 100mbps LAN, you don't ever see 100mbps? That's link speed, not real world.
Applied here, HSPA+ has a top link speed of 21mbps (assuming both ends are compatible). DC-HSDPA has a top link speed of 42mbps. Real world performance will be 3-8mbps on the former, and 5-15mbps on the latter. I've seen spikes up around 12mbps and 25mbps, but those are incredibly rare. Bottom line is, do not expect LTE speeds. I currently have a phone that has 21mbps HSPA support on PCS (1900mhz), and on T-Mobile, I get 6-7mbps in most HSPA areas.
I hope that helps.

Im getting 20-30 m.b.p.s. dwn anf 10-15 m.b.p.s. up Lte.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app

rp56 said:
Im getting 20-30 m.b.p.s. dwn anf 10-15 m.b.p.s. up Lte.
Sent from my SGH-M919 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shouldn't it be more? Are you using the Snapdragon version on the American Tmobile network?

jaykresge said:
For explanatory purposes: Ever noticed how, if connected to a 100mbps LAN, you don't ever see 100mbps? That's link speed, not real world.
Applied here, HSPA+ has a top link speed of 21mbps (assuming both ends are compatible). DC-HSDPA has a top link speed of 42mbps. Real world performance will be 3-8mbps on the former, and 5-15mbps on the latter. I've seen spikes up around 12mbps and 25mbps, but those are incredibly rare. Bottom line is, do not expect LTE speeds. I currently have a phone that has 21mbps HSPA support on PCS (1900mhz), and on T-Mobile, I get 6-7mbps in most HSPA areas.
I hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, kind of considering the I9500 again. I live in Austin, Texas. How will I know if Tmobile converted here and if I can get the 6-7mpbs in HSPA where ever I am here? Also, right now I have a Nexus S with 3G. I have to admit that I only am able to get 3G(Tmobile) about 50% of the time and the rest is edge speed. Would HSPA consistency be this bad?

dman777 said:
Wow, kind of considering the I9500 again. I live in Austin, Texas. How will I know if Tmobile converted here and if I can get the 6-7mpbs in HSPA where ever I am here? Also, right now I have a Nexus S with 3G. I have to admit that I only am able to get 3G(Tmobile) about 50% of the time and the rest is edge speed. Would HSPA consistency be this bad?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you got the Nexus S model sold for T-Mobile, that has AWS support. That means that switching to a PCS 3G phone like the i9500 means that AT BEST you will have the same Edge/3G coverage ratio you have now, and at worse you'll have mostly Edge coverage. Your 3G data speeds will be faster in the areas you get it though. It will be a tradeoff.
EDIT: Here's a user-generated map of areas that have had 3G and HSPA+ refarmed to PCS. Looks like a few rowers directly in Austin have been refarmed. This is a massive project by T-Mobile and is nowhere near being complete. However, an areas HAS to be refarmed in order for them to launch LTE, so refarmed markets (that already offered 3G/4G AWS service) are the ones that are getting LTE eventually.
http://www.airportal.de/