Earlier this month we noted how T-Mobile was slowly starting to play catch up when it comes to deploying 3G wireless broadband services, and that they were planning to offer 21 Mbps HSPA+ services beginning in 2010. T-Mobile's apparently getting an early jump on that deployment with the news that the carrier has enabled HSPA+ in about twenty cell sites in the Philadelphia market. That's the first place in the United States that get to see the faster speeds, which T-Mobile calls a "very promising start." By contrast, AT&T is skipping 21 Mbps HSPA+ and jumping right to LTE, but at the moment are busy deploying faster 7.2 Mbps HSDPA technology first.

Earlier this week we noted how T-Mobile's quickly playing catch up with 3G network coverage after a late start. The carrier this week also announced Motorola's first Android Phone (The Cliq) during which, T-Mobile's Chief Technology Officer Cole Brodman detailed further 3G rollout plans for 2009 and 2010. By the end of 2009, T-Mobile is not only planning to match ATT's 7.2mbps HSDPA rollout with its own, but intends on overtaking ATT with a 21mbps HSDPA rollout beginning in 2010. It's not clear when T-Mobile plans to officially make the jump to LTE, which AT&T says they'll start deploying in 2011. Combined with news that T-Mobile's European parent company Deutsche Telekom is planning on massive investments in the U.S., it appears that T-Mobile's suiting up for battle.

As you might expect, being the first carrier to launch a phone with the Android OS got T-Mobile lots of attention, though it also drew attention to the fact the carrier's 3G HSDPA network footprint was a little lacking. T-Mobile's been trying to change that quickly, a new leaked launch schedule by TMONews highlighting more than 100 new HSDPA launch markets for 2009 broken down by quarter. T-Mobile faced delays in getting the network up and running, last year blaming Uncle Sam for being slow to vacate the 1700Mhz spectrum they purchased from the old fellow. T-Mo's also bringing back Catherine Zeta Jones as a pitchperson.

If you recall, T-Mobile made a big deal last December about the fact that they had eliminated their annoying $18 "handset upgrade fee." Well, several users tell us it's back from the dead, one user noticing the re-established fee when he went to upgrade his sister's line. A slew of other carriers often jam consumers with a nonsensical handset upgrade fee, though there's usually ways around it if you jump through whatever hoops they've established (upgrading online, in person, through a big box retailer, or via carrier pigeon on the second Monday of each month). Such nonsensical fees are part of the cost of doing business, but are broken out below the line to milk more revenue from customers while keeping the advertised price the same.

As you might expect, being the first carrier to launch a phone with the Android OS got T-Mobile lots of attention, though it also drew attention to the fact the carrier's 3G HSDPA network has one of the smallest footprints among major carriers. T-Mobile's looking to change that quickly -- and a leaked 3G HSDPA launch schedule memo posted by TmoNews shows T-Mobile's planned network expansion.

That rumor from last month about a new T-Mobile loyal customer discount was apparently true. Customers who have been with the carrier for at least twenty two months, and have a decent payment history with the carrier, are now being offered (via e-mail) a $49.99 per month plan that comes with unlimited minutes.

The new T-Mobile plans for loyal customers (customers who've been with the carrier for 22 months) we mentioned last week have gone live in San Francisco. Qualifying customers will be able to pay $49.99 monthly for unlimited nationwide minutes, or pay $84.99 for an "unlimited" (T-Mobile has a 10GB monthly 3G cap) voice/SMS/data plan. Rumors have the plan going nationwide in March, something that T-Mobile has yet to confirm.

Portions of Barcelona this week are decked out with LTE wireless broadband technology courtesy of Motorola, who is highlighting the technology to attendees of the Mobile World Congress. Our friend Mari Silbey blogs about the network, which was showcased to customers brave enough to get into a van with Motorola personnel.

Rumors are bubbling over at Howard Forums (via TMONews) that T-Mobile plans to drop a competitive price bomb in the middle of the wireless market landscape. According to insiders, by March 1 T-Mobile will be offering a $49.99 single line unlimited plan, as well as a "unlimited" (T-Mobile has a 10GB data cap) voice/SMS/data plan or a Unlimited Voice/Blackberry Data plan for $84.99 each.

For years, both landline and wireless carriers have been marketing their broadband services as unlimited, then burying some very real limits deep in their usage agreement fine print. Some companies stopped this only after users spent years complaining, like when Comcast used to pretend their service didn't have any limits.

T-Mobile today "announced" that they'll be completely eliminating their annoying $18 "handset upgrade fee" starting, well, yesterday. According to several posts at wireless enthusiast forums, the carrier is eager to make customer satisfaction inroads by being less annoying. According to employee chatter, if you have upgraded recently (14-30 days depending on State laws) you can call back and request the $18.00 be credited to your account. A slew of other carriers often jam consumers with a nonsensical handset upgrade fee, though there's usually ways around it if you jump through whatever hoops they've established (upgrading online, in person, through a big box retailer, or via carrier pigeon on the second Monday of each month).

Gizmodo conducted what they're calling a "grueling" and "definitive" (they ran a few speed, pageload and file download tests at several locations in eight cities) analysis of the nation's 3G networks. According to the gadget blog, they tested Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint (sorry T-Mobile) networks using AT&T's Sierra USBConnect 881, Sprint's Sierra Wireless Compass 597 and Verizon Wireless's Novatel USB727. Sprint had the best downstream speeds overall, while AT&T came out tops in upstream speeds, dominating tests in six cities. Verizon beat AT&T in four cities, tied in one, and lost in three. Their tests broken down by city: Austin, Boston, Chicago, New York City, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, San Francisco, and Seattle.

If you recall, when T-Mobile first launched the new HTC G1 smart phone with Google's Android OS, we were the first to note that buried in the fine print was a provision saying that users who used more than 1GB per month would be throttled back to 50kbps or less. Even for more constrained wireless networks that's a little sad, especially considering the G1 touted as a next-gen broadband-powered smart phone running on a next-gen wireless broadband network.

The Consumer Reports National Research Center recently surveyed 51,700 readers in 23 cities to determine how satisfied users were with their cell phone service. Verizon Wireless took the top place for most satisfied customers, only beaten in a few locations by Alltel, which they'll be acquiring shortly.

T-Mobile barely has their third generation HSDPA network up and running, something highlighted by the recent launch of the HTC G1 with Android. Given they're so late to the 3G game (not their words of course), T-Mobile tells Unstrung that the company will not deploy high-speed packet access (HSPA) evolution (HSPA+) upgrades, but will instead spend those investment dollars on LTE. Companies like AT&T, who also plan a HSDPA to LTE migration path, have stated they intend to milk HSPA with software and hardware upgrades, offering speeds up to 20Mbps downstream. T-Mobile says they'll stick with HSPA software upgrades only, which still allows them to offer speeds up to 14Mbps. Their first order of business, however, remains getting HSDPA into more markets.

As we expected, the launch of the HTC G1 with Google's Android OS has highlighted the fact that T-Mobile's 3G network lacks coverage in a few tiny towns and hamlets, like oh, the cozy metropolis of Washington DC. The Washington Post discovers a 3G phone isn't so much fun without a 3G network: the Post saying DC locals can go into T-Mobile shops and tinker with the phone, but they can't buy one.

As you might expect, being the first carrier to launch a phone with the Android OS got T-Mobile lots of attention, though it also drew attention to the fact the carrier's 3G HSDPA network has one of the smallest footprints among major carriers. T-Mobile is quickly trying to change that, announcing that they launched 3G this week in Sacramento, California, bringing the number of major cities currently served with 3G coverage to 92. Next week, T-Mobile says they'll be offering wireless broadband service in the Memphis, Tennessee, and Tampa, Florida markets. Washington DC should see service in late November, at which point the carrier hopes to serve 120 major cities.

The actual phone still doesn't arrive for a bit longer (October 22), but Google and T-Mobile say that 1.5 million G1 phones have been pre-ordered. The phone, of note because it's the first to feature Google's broadband-centric "Android" operating system, is seeing "a heck of a rush for an unproven software concept on never-before-seen hardware," opines the Motley Fool. Earlier this month, T-Mobile quickly burned through all of their pre-order stock, forcing them to triple their order to HTC. Hopefully they're working just as hard at getting their iffy third generation network coverage shored up, or there's going to be some grumpy android lovers out there.

When exploring T-Mobile's new Android-driven G1 phone last Tuesday, we were the first to note that the device came with a 1GB cap, seriously stunting the benefits of a high speed device on a next-generation network. Not only was there a cap, but the fine print on the T-Mobile website warned users that they'd be throttled back to 50kbps should they exceed it.

The T-Mobile HTC G1 (aka Dream) unveiling this morning disclosed the few details that hadn't been leaked already -- namely the phone price-tag and these rumored new T-Mobile data plans. While presenting on rollerskates, the Google/T-Mobile union unveiled that the G1 will be sold at a price point of $179, assuming you're willing to sign up for a two year contract and accept a serious bit of fine print.