gizmodo.com— In a recent auction hosted by the FCC, T-Mobile won a large chunk of the 1700MHz and 2100Mhz band, which is used 3G data communications. What does mean to you?
Sep 19, 2006View in Crawl 4
I think it's funny that the FCC has no problem selling frequencies, but they regulate radio and television stations on the basis of "public ownership" of the airwaves.
The 1710-1755 chunk will be for upload and 2110-2155 will be for download. The same works for PCS 1900. 1850-1910 is used for upload and 1930-1990 is used for download. This auction was for unused spectrum. The only way T-Mobile can increase its current GSM (1900) allotment is to buy it from other license holders, as 1900 is not up for auction.Despite the current maddness with wimax and city wifi, one drawback to those two is building penetration. Wifi and wimax do not penetrate buildings like cellular signals do.
So the answer in the article:"If you're a T-Mobile customer and can hold on for another year or so for faster data speed, you probably should."I don't really know a lot about the tech side of this, so maybe someone can help me out. Am I correct in assuming that this in no way affects the transmission of voice signals? Because to be honest, I can't stand the lack of voice coverage I have with T-Mobile. I live in L.A. but am constantly surprised at how often I have no coverage. So frustrating...
You are correct for the most part. At least in the near future, voice calls for Cingular & T-Mobile will be GSM based. T-Mobile's new spectrum is for their 3G data services. More than likely, they will roll out HSDPA in this new spectrum. HSDPA is what T-Mobile is using in Europe for 3G services.Voice calls won't be made using HSDPA for quite sometime. Until then, you're still stuck with GSM for voice calls. So the new spectrum available to T-Mobile won't help you with your voice coverage. PCS 1900 (which GSM is based off of) is where T-Mobile is lacking in this country.Theoretically, HSDPA and EVDO can support voice. But currently, US carriers have no plans to offer voice service using those technologies. They can go as far as using VOIP on those high speed networks, using data packets to deliver voice. But this may be far fetched. We'll see what they do. If wimax really does give carriers a run for their money (a big IF in my opinion), carriers will have to start offering other/better things to keep customers.
massproductionsSep 20, 2006
I think it's funny that the FCC has no problem selling frequencies, but they regulate radio and television stations on the basis of "public ownership" of the airwaves.
truffleduffleSep 20, 2006
The 1710-1755 chunk will be for upload and 2110-2155 will be for download. The same works for PCS 1900. 1850-1910 is used for upload and 1930-1990 is used for download. This auction was for unused spectrum. The only way T-Mobile can increase its current GSM (1900) allotment is to buy it from other license holders, as 1900 is not up for auction.Despite the current maddness with wimax and city wifi, one drawback to those two is building penetration. Wifi and wimax do not penetrate buildings like cellular signals do.
dwtdSep 20, 2006
So the answer in the article:"If you're a T-Mobile customer and can hold on for another year or so for faster data speed, you probably should."I don't really know a lot about the tech side of this, so maybe someone can help me out. Am I correct in assuming that this in no way affects the transmission of voice signals? Because to be honest, I can't stand the lack of voice coverage I have with T-Mobile. I live in L.A. but am constantly surprised at how often I have no coverage. So frustrating...
ccanni1028Sep 20, 2006
Oh god I hate those commercials. They are even selling the ***** Helios at my college now.
truffleduffleSep 20, 2006
You are correct for the most part. At least in the near future, voice calls for Cingular & T-Mobile will be GSM based. T-Mobile's new spectrum is for their 3G data services. More than likely, they will roll out HSDPA in this new spectrum. HSDPA is what T-Mobile is using in Europe for 3G services.Voice calls won't be made using HSDPA for quite sometime. Until then, you're still stuck with GSM for voice calls. So the new spectrum available to T-Mobile won't help you with your voice coverage. PCS 1900 (which GSM is based off of) is where T-Mobile is lacking in this country.Theoretically, HSDPA and EVDO can support voice. But currently, US carriers have no plans to offer voice service using those technologies. They can go as far as using VOIP on those high speed networks, using data packets to deliver voice. But this may be far fetched. We'll see what they do. If wimax really does give carriers a run for their money (a big IF in my opinion), carriers will have to start offering other/better things to keep customers.
ayeroxorOct 6, 2006
It means you still don't know the difference between a comma and a period.