T-Mobile Ratchets Up 4G LTE Speeds To 400 Mbps With 4x4 MIMO
T-Mobile recently signaled the end of data plans as you know them with the introduction of a singular option (with add-ons, of course), taking jabs at Verizon in the process, and now it's claiming bragging rights over its biggest rival in network performance. Make that more bragging rights—T-Mobile says its 4G LTE network is already the fastest, and now it's even speedier thanks to the roll out of 4x4 MIMO.
"Verizon loves to scream about the massive amounts of money they’ve spent on their network over the last decade. It is a staggering, mind-blowing sum of money. But, here’s something even more mind-blowing: Verizon has spent billions on their network, and it is still slower than T-Mobile, and Verizon still won’t (or can’t) offer unlimited data," said Neville Ray, Chief Technology Officer at T-Mobile.
The bold text is added for emphasis by T-Mobile, not us. T-Mobile also poked fun at Verizon's recent "LTE Advanced" announcement, noting that the same 2-channel carrier aggregation has been available to T-Mobile customers since 2014, and that it's already rolled out 3-channel aggregation.
"Customers on America’s fastest LTE network already experience typical download speeds of 7-40 Mbps and typical upload speeds of 7-20 Mbps. (Ouch. I’m sure it’s frustrating for Verizon to be #2 even with all this LTE Advanced stuff they’ve already deployed!)," Ray added.
There's more, folks. The entire first half of T-Mobile's press release announcing 4x4 MIMO is aimed at cutting down Verizon, both directly and through backhanded compliments.
"I will hand it to Verizon. They did some cool marketing. And, I really can't blame them for trumpeting LTE Advanced two years too late. This is what they have to do with their older, slower network. Every couple of years, they rebrand it. Remember Verizon XLTE? It's all but gone. Now, it's Verizon LTE-A. What's next? Verizon LTE-BS?," Ray quipped.
In any event, T-Mobile says 4x4 MIMO is available now in 319 cities and that it will effectively double speeds for customers by doubling the number of data paths between cell sites and supported smartphones. Customers with Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge devices will be among the first to benefit later this month with a software update.
On top of 4x4 MIMO, T-Mobile is beefing up its 4G LTE network with 256 QAM for downloads and 64 QAM for uploads. They're already live on half of T-Mobile's network and will be on every cell site by the end of October. Combined with 4x4 MIMO, T-Mobile says users can expect download speeds of up to 400Mbps.
"Verizon loves to scream about the massive amounts of money they’ve spent on their network over the last decade. It is a staggering, mind-blowing sum of money. But, here’s something even more mind-blowing: Verizon has spent billions on their network, and it is still slower than T-Mobile, and Verizon still won’t (or can’t) offer unlimited data," said Neville Ray, Chief Technology Officer at T-Mobile.
The bold text is added for emphasis by T-Mobile, not us. T-Mobile also poked fun at Verizon's recent "LTE Advanced" announcement, noting that the same 2-channel carrier aggregation has been available to T-Mobile customers since 2014, and that it's already rolled out 3-channel aggregation.
"Customers on America’s fastest LTE network already experience typical download speeds of 7-40 Mbps and typical upload speeds of 7-20 Mbps. (Ouch. I’m sure it’s frustrating for Verizon to be #2 even with all this LTE Advanced stuff they’ve already deployed!)," Ray added.
There's more, folks. The entire first half of T-Mobile's press release announcing 4x4 MIMO is aimed at cutting down Verizon, both directly and through backhanded compliments.
"I will hand it to Verizon. They did some cool marketing. And, I really can't blame them for trumpeting LTE Advanced two years too late. This is what they have to do with their older, slower network. Every couple of years, they rebrand it. Remember Verizon XLTE? It's all but gone. Now, it's Verizon LTE-A. What's next? Verizon LTE-BS?," Ray quipped.
In any event, T-Mobile says 4x4 MIMO is available now in 319 cities and that it will effectively double speeds for customers by doubling the number of data paths between cell sites and supported smartphones. Customers with Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge devices will be among the first to benefit later this month with a software update.
On top of 4x4 MIMO, T-Mobile is beefing up its 4G LTE network with 256 QAM for downloads and 64 QAM for uploads. They're already live on half of T-Mobile's network and will be on every cell site by the end of October. Combined with 4x4 MIMO, T-Mobile says users can expect download speeds of up to 400Mbps.
