HSPA+ network will enable theoretical maximum download speeds of 21 Mb/s. Keep in mind though that today’s most advanced phones can only go up to 7.2 Mb/s, but data cards/modems/USB dongles can take full advantage of these insane speeds.
Upload speeds go up to 5.7 Mb/s (again, theoretical), and some of the most recently launched phones can in fact use all of this bandwidth.
HSPA+ does not cure UMTS’ latency problem though, so do expect load latencies similar to those you’re accustomed with on a mobile network.
T-Mobile promises HSPA+ coverage of 100 metropolitan areas (185 million people) in the US by year’s end, and at the current pace of investment, they’re set to get there without any hiccups.
T-Mobile promises HSPA+ coveragelist of cities on July 21st:
- Austin, TX
- Baltimore, MD
- Birmingham, AL
- Cincinnati, OH
- Cleveland, OH
- Columbus, OH
- El Paso, TX
- Ft. Worth, TX
- Hawaii, HI
- Indianapolis, IN
- Jacksonville, FL
- Kansas City, MO
- Louisville, TN
- Milwaukee, WI
- Minneapolis, MN
- Portland, OR
- San Antonio, TX
- Washington, D.C.
- Wichita, KS
T-Mobile also seem to have started to take cues from Sprint’s marketing, and are now calling HSPA+ “4G speed”.
