Starting today, customers can now enjoy T-Mobile Extended Range LTE coverage in the metropolitan area. This means that subscribers surrounding the downtown area of the Windy City may enjoy the benefits of coverage that extends twice as much as before. Apart from the downtown area, the coverage reaches outlying and suburban areas such as Rockford, Janesville, DeKalb, Kankakee, Joliet, and Wisconsin.
Now that the coverage has officially gone live, T-Mobile has announced that they will be opening 43 new T-Mobile and MetroPCS stores to better provide service in the city. The carrier anticipates that they will be bringing in over 350 retail and network engineering jobs in this year alone. And for any city, this definitely means good news.
If you're based in Chicago, have you started to see this new coverage?
Source: TMONews
The GOOD news: less NO SERVICE indicator
ReplyDeleteThe BAD news: 0Mbps due to immediate congestion of the meager bandwidth!
too little, too late. i am starting my att service may 7th. on tmobile till them. i have been waiting for so long for a decent signal but it never comes.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Their hype about network coverage is getting stale for years.
DeleteMaybe its my bad luck, I dont know. There have been areas that say EDGE in many areas I have been to. Of course when CS is contacted, there is little if any real explanation as to why in densely or even suburban populated areas this is happening.
No real improvement in Chicago. When are they going to build their 600MHz spectrum? Do any current phones support the 600 MHz frequencies?
ReplyDeleteT-Mobile says that their first 600 MHz sites will go live by year end. It will take several years to implement all the 600 MHz spectrum. Much of it is in use for TV and some TV stations have until to 2020 to relocate.
DeleteThe 600 Mhz spectrun is band 71. No current devices support it. The first devices with band 71 supported are expected by the end of 2017.
I wish I could understand why my cricket lg x power has band 2,4,5 and 12 and my cricket HTC has band 2,4,5 and 17. Does this mean the LG will work with TMobile band 12, assuming it's unlocked?
ReplyDeleteThe LG wil support T-Mobile band 12, the HTC won't.
DeleteBand 12 is 700 Mhz lower blocks a, b, c
Band 17 is 700 Mhz lower blocks b, c
AT&T only uses blocks b and c
T-Mobile uses block a, b and c
AT&T used to spec their phones with band 17 but is now specing new phones with band 12 so they can roam on T-Mobile and vice versa.
Thanks Dennis, I've never seen it written so clearly, I was really under the impression that band 700 was band 700, now it makes sense. The only thing I'm not clear on now is can tmobile use band 17 at all?
DeleteMy T-Mobile unlocked Alcatel fierce xl shows band 17 now and then with an h20 Sim, I've never seen band 5 though, supposedly it's locked out at T-Mobiles request.
Delete"The only thing I'm not clear on now is can tmobile use band 17 at all?"
DeleteA band 17 phone will not work on T-Mobile's band 12 network.
A band 12 phone will work on T-Mobile's band 12 network and AT&T's band 17 network.
"I've never seen band 5 though, supposedly it's locked out at T-Mobiles request."
DeleteThis may not be true. T-Mobile itself has a band 5 LTE network (albeit in just one place,) and AT&T may not have a band 5 LTE network where you are. Bands 17 and 4 are more common.
My other at&t mvno device does connect to band 5 at the same location.
DeleteOne day, you'll have great service and fast data anywhere and everywhere.
ReplyDeleteUntil then, you have AT&T and Verizon.
Fantastic coverage in Metro Detroit on Tmo. Also used it all the way to Quebec City without any issue whatsoever. Only provider that works in my office as well.
ReplyDeleteNo one with a brain lives in Detroit, so that would explain it. :=)
Deletexx: I've been looking for an excuse to move to Detroit.You have given me one. Thanks!
DeleteAs for there being no one with a brain in metro Detroit, I'm sure each one of these kids is 3 times smarter than the troll above:
www.wxyz.com/brightestandbest
But on the bright side, I'm sure he is smart enough to be a Boost dealer.