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Who will offer fastest wireless Internet?

March 23rd, 2010, 4:32 pm by

It’s a big week for mobile Internet, as nearly every wireless company is at the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas and unveiling plans for cell phone customers in the U.S. But is there anything we should really care about?

More people are moving to smartphones and rely on cellular-based wireless for Internet. The mobile Web needs to speed up, big time.

Currently 3rd-generation (3G) Internet speeds are around 1 megabit per second. The coming 4G technology promises much faster service.  Sprint and T-Mobile announced their upgrades today. Verizon’s is coming tomorrow.

If you’re trying to sort out what mobile service is in your future, here’s what it comes down to:

► T-Mobile: Announced “Rollout the Nation’s Fastest 3G Wireless Network.”
Speeds: Using a technology called HSPA+, T-Mobile  says its mobile Internet will jump to speeds of 21 megabits per second. The announcement Tuesday included a “coming soon” for Los Angeles (and Orange County) users.
Reality: 21 mbps is a theoretical speed. As with every wireless Internet, speed will vary based on “location, device, and overall traffic on the local wireless network,” which T-Mobile does note. How slow? One reviewer seemed impressed when he squeezed 3 mbps out of T-Mobile’s service. Users also must upgrade to a HSPA device (here’s a list) and, ultimately, this is 3G and not 4G technology. However, it’s one of the fastest wireless technologies available today and should be everywhere by end of year.

► Sprint: Expanded its limited 4G wireless Internet to more areas, including North Orange County later this year.
Speeds: Using 4G Wimax technology, Sprint says its mobile Internet is 3 to 6 mbps, which is “up to 10 times faster” than today’s existing 3G speeds of around 600 kilobits per second, says Sprint.
Reality: The same reviewer who tested T-Mobile’s HSPA+ discovered Sprint’s 4G speed was slower, at 2.25 mbps. Other 4G user forums mention how it’s slower than 3G. But there are no caps on usage, and it’s the only 4G service publicly available.

► Verizon: Still waiting to hear Verizon’s update, which is coming Wednesday.
Speeds: Its mobile Internet service using Long Term Evolution technology (LTE) is on track for this year. Peak download of 40 to 50 mbps; upload speed of 20 to 25 mbps.
Reality: Since speed is reliant on environment and other users, Verizon says the average download speed is more like 5 to 12 mbps, while upload speed is 2 to 5 mbps.

► AT&T: Appears to be concentrating on other news this week and announced connected digital photo frames and GPS-enabled dog collars. The company, which is sticking with HSPA for now until it moves to LTE, did express disbelief as to whether LTE is ready for prime time.

More CTIA news:

  • Verizon Wireless smartphone customers can add Skype beginning Thursday. Calls to other Skype users won’t affect available minutes. Read details
  • First Android phone with 4G and 3G service coming from Sprint this summer. The HTC Evo even has its own site: www.sprint.com/evo.  Read details
  • T-Mobile announces first netbook. Read details

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • • • • | 5 Comments »

T-Mobile preps for 21 Mbps Internet with new gadget

March 11th, 2010, 5:17 pm by

Faster wireless Internet — up to 21 Mbps — from T-Mobile is around the corner and expected to be available nationwide by the end of the year. It could launch even sooner here in Orange County. We’ll find out in two weeks when T-Mobile offers an update during the upcoming CTIA mobile show.

To get ready for the speed jump, T-Mobile announced today that it now offers an HSPA+ USB Laptop stick, the webConnect Rocket. The company says that it’s also the nation’s first HSPA+ device, but that’s because the only other company going this speedy route is AT&T. Verizon Wireless and Sprint are working on faster 4G wireless technology like LTE (Long Term Evolution) and Wimax.

HSPA, short for High Speed Packet Access, is sometimes called Turbo 3G and offers wireless Internet speeds of up to 7.2 mbps. But add a plus sign and the speed jumps to 21 Mbps. T-Mobile is upgrading its 3G cell towers nationwide to add the faster technology.

I’m sure T-Mobile smartphone users everywhere are ready for the speed jump because the existing 3G Internet is more like 1 Mbps or slower. But if you feel 3G Internet is still slow, here’s some bad news: T-Mobile has already enabled HSPA 7.2 across its entire 3G network nationwide. The company, however, says it is still working to put the “necessary backhaul in place to support these faster speeds.” (AT&T, by the way, has also upgraded all of its network to HSPA and is working on upgrading to 4G technology.)

Nevertheless, many of T-Mobile’s newer smartphone users will reap the benefits of HSPA+ when it does become available because the phones and devices are backward compatible.  Here are T-Mobile’s existing 3G phones and devices that are HSPA capable:

  1. T-Mobile G1
  2. T-Mobile myTouch 3G
  3. T-Mobile myTouch 3G LE
  4. Motorola CLIQ
  5. HTC TouchPro 2
  6. T-Mobile Dash 3G
  7. Samsung Behold II
  8. T-Mobile webConnect USB Laptop Stick
  9. T-Mobile webConnect Jet
  10. HTC HD2

The Rocket goes on sale Sunday, March 14, for $99.99 with a 2-year contract. New Internet plans will be available beginning this weekend. Here are the new “Even More” plans and prices: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • Gadgets • • • • | 6 Comments »

AT&T upgrades mobile coverage in San Clemente, Laguna Hills

March 11th, 2010, 1:44 pm by

Two more cell sites just got powered on in Orange County that should help ease the pain of dropped calls and poor coverage for local AT&T customers.

AT&T said Thursday that the two new sites are part of four 3G sites in the Los Angeles area to “improve mobile coverage for area residents and businesses.”

In Orange County, the new sites are near these intersections:

  • San Clemente: Near the intersection of Portico Del Norte and Camino De Los Mares
  • Laguna Hills: Near the intersection of Moulton Parkway and Ridge Route Drive

The other new sites are located in Fontana and Temecula.

The upgrades are part of the company’s plan to add 200 new cell sites in California this year.

Other new cell sites:

►  Older posts on cell sites in Orange County

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • | 17 Comments »

Virgin Mobile updates prepaid mobile data plans with 5 GBs

March 3rd, 2010, 4:30 am by

For consumers who like the convenience of wireless Internet but don’t want to commit to yet another monthly contract, Virgin Mobile offers Broadband2Go, a pay-as-you go 3G data plan getting updated today.

The company, now part of Sprint’s prepaid group that includes Irvine’s Boost Mobile, added a 5 Gigabyte plan for $60, which the company considers as a “suitable replacement for at-home Internet broadband service.”

While that statement is arguable, the company notes that customers like the option of choosing a different plan each month so they can opt for a cheaper plan if they know they won’t be using wireless data much.

While there are no contracts or activation or termination fees, the drawback to any prepaid service plan is that minutes and megabytes can expire if you don’t use them. For example, the 5 GB plan must be used up within 30 days.  Virgin’s smallest data plan, for $10, offers 100 megabytes and must be used up within 10 days.

Here’s the guide:

Virgin Mobile Broadband 2Go plans for 2010
Price Expires MBs/GBs* Web Browsing Video Emails
$10 10 Days 100 MB 5 HRS 25 MIN 10,000
$20 30 Days 300MB 15 HRS 1 HR 25,000
$40 30 Days 1GB 50 HRS 4 HRS 100,000
$60 30 Days 5GB 250 HRS 21 HRS 500,000

*Data courtesy of Virgin Mobile

Comparably, Verizon Wireless’s 5 GB mobile broadband plan is $59.99 a month and may require a long-term commitment if you need a wireless modem to go with it.

Every level except the lowest is getting more megabytes with no change in price, as of today. When the Broadband2Go launched last June, the $60 plan included just 1 GB (read: “Virgin Mobile adds pay-as-you-go wireless Internet.”). The price of the wireless USB modem has also dropped to $99, from $149.

Broadband2Go uses Sprint’s 3G network, so expect speeds of about 600 kbps or slightly higher.

Virgin shared a little bit more about what customers are doing with the prepaid data service. Some 30 percent use it more than 4-times a week, while 16 percent used it to replace their at-home Internet connection. The biggest customer request: Larger data plans.

There should be a lot of news in the wireless data space this year, as newcomers like Cox and Time Warner (yes, the cable TV providers) jump in. Time Warner began wireless data service in December in Texas and North Carolina and plans to expand nationwide this year. Cox, meanwhile, plans to launch wireless service in Orange County sometime this month.

Recent Internet news:

Posted in: Cell phones • Internet • • • • • • • • | 7 Comments »

AT&T improves iPhone 3G coverage in 6 O.C. spots

January 14th, 2010, 3:05 pm by

AT&T WirelessLocal iPhone users rejoice: AT&T has added 26 more 3G cell sites in the area, including six in Orange County.

The cell sites should improve wireless coverage for 3G phone users indoors and out.  In Orange County, the new sites are near these intersections:

  • Anaheim: Near the intersection of Stage Coach Road and Nohl Ranch Road
  • Anaheim: Near the intersection of W. Lincoln Ave. and N. Gilbert St.
  • Anaheim: Near the intersection of Gene Autry Way and State College Blvd.
  • Placentia: Near the intersection of S. Fee Ana Street and Orangethorpe Ave.
  • Santa Ana: Near the intersection of Newport Blvd. and Rockhurst Ave.
  • Garden Grove: Near the intersection of Garden Grove Blvd. and Magnolia St.

Does this affect you? Comment below and tell AT&T if these areas are really better, or tell them what intersection to hit next.

Nationwide, AT&T has been upgrading cell sites everywhere to get ready for even faster Internet, called High-Speed Packet Access or HSPA 7.2. The faster speeds are scheduled to begin later this year and next year.

Other Southern California cities included in the batch of new 3G cell sites include the following: Los Angeles, Ontario, Glendale, Santa Fe Springs, Calabasas, Northridge, Corona, Rialto, Redlands, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Bakersfield and Oxnard.

More on cell coverage in Orange County:

Posted in: Cell phones • iPhone • • • • • • • • • | 49 Comments »

Cox picks Orange County to launch mobile phone service

December 8th, 2009, 12:00 pm by

Cox Cable picks Orange County to launch mobile serviceIf you hate your cell phone service, a new player is coming to Orange County: Cox Cable.

The cable TV provider has been working on wireless service for a while but today it announced that Orange County residents will be one of the first three areas nationwide to get the service.

Very few details are available. Because of competitive reasons, Cox said it is unable to reveal pricing, launch date or types of phones that will be offered. While some local customers are getting the chance to play with mobile service as part of a test group, the full service will launch in 2010 to residents. Cox plans to offer the service to business users in the future.

“Right now, if Cox customers in Orange County are interested in Cox Wireless service they shouldn’t renew their wireless contract because it won’t be long before Cox introduces a better wireless experience in Orange County,” said Lana Ong, a spokesperson with Cox in Orange County.

Previously, the company said it plans to use Sprint’s mobile network to launch the first products. The company is also working on its own 3G wireless and 4G wireless networks. For the next generation of mobile service, or 4G, Cox has joined the Long Term Evolution crowd, which is also the technology of choice for AT&T and Verizon Wireless. See last year’s story on this, at “Cox Cable adding… mobile phone service?” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • | 34 Comments »

iPhone service outage? There’s an app for that

December 8th, 2009, 8:37 am by

AT&T Mark the Spot app to report reception issues.Noted: AT&T has been criticized heavily for poor reception among iPhone 3G wireless users. Now, the company wants iPhone users to help them detect weaknesses. With an app.

The free AT&T Mark the Spot app allows customers to notify the company when they’re in a bum area. The customer just presses a button to indicate the nature of the issue, adds notes and sends it to AT&T. You can download the app from iTunes HERE.

While AT&T is on track to invest $17 billion to $18 billion in its wireless network, the company said that using crowd sourcing to determine network weaknesses will speed up improvements.

Of course by offering such an app, AT&T is getting reamed by some users:

“You have no service from AT&T and you’re supposed to notify AT&T of no service on AT&T with an app that needs AT&T service to let them know there’s no service on AT&T? What’s wrong with this picture?” was one of many similar user comments.

Still, at least AT&T is putting itself out there. And one independent testing firm says that AT&T’s reputation for an inferior network is just perception. Perhaps AT&T should add a feature to the app to that informs users when the location is fixed or upgraded?

At the moment, the service is only for iPhone customers but AT&T said versions for other smartphones are expected in coming months.

Earlier stories on cell phone services:

Posted in: Apple mania • iPhone • Video & TV • • • • • • • | Comments Off

Where Verizon improved So. Calif. cell coverage in August, Sept.

November 2nd, 2009, 2:48 pm by

Verizon WirelessHas your Verizon Wireless cell phone been getting better reception? I just got a list of 26 new cell sites the company turned in on during August and September. Several cities in Southern California should have seen improvements. All the sites offer 3G wireless coverage, of course.

As for Orange County? Just one lucky locale (October results have not yet been released):

San Juan Capistrano - Along Ortega Highway at the Orange/Riverside County line, east to Fire Street to Upper San Juan Campground to the southwest.

A Verizon coverage map is also available here. Here is the list of the latest cell sites for the Southern California region.  Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • | 7 Comments »

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