Category: T-Mobile

For T-Mobile and Project Fi subscribers, there has been a lot of discussion around T-Mobile’s LTE Band 12.  This coverage from the carrier is in the 700MHz frequency range and is really helpful for those in urban areas (gets through buildings a bit better) and rural regions (goes out from the tower a bit further).  While most of know that T-Mobile has the 700MHz range, there hasn’t been a huge amount of information on exactly where it is rolled out in the US.  Most of the time those of us on Fi or T-Mobile simply depend on other users who post “I have Band 12 in such-and-such city” to know if it is there or not.

Now your life just got a little easier.

Spectrum Gateway is a site that gives great insight into T-Mobile’s network coverage but they have a specific area that is dedicated to the 700MHz range to show you were it is available here in the United States.  Not only that, the map shows you where the carrier has applied for coverage but does not have it just yet. It is a wealth of information and can really help you as you plan a trip to know if you can expect Band 12 on your devices (assuming it supports it) as you travel.

T-Mobile announced during a press conference that they plan on expanding their 700 MHz spectrum by nearly 250% over the course of 2016.  The news is great for T-Mobile users and Project Fi users (which leverages T-Mobile) as it should give them more LTE coverage in more remote places and better coverage in urban areas.  For T-Mobile, this spectrum is their LTE Band 12 and the lower frequency allows for LTE coverage in buildings and remote areas.

In the conference, T-Mobile’s Chief Technology Officer, Neville Ray stated that just over 300 million of the companies Points of Presence (POP) out of the 700 million will be licensed for the 700 MHz in the coming year, greatly expanding the company’s LTE cover in the United States.  If you remember, T-Mobile acquired the spectrum back in 2014 and have been slowly expanding it since then.  Currently there are 185 million POPs in T-Mobile’s inventory that support this spectrum.

T-Mobile has added 11 new streaming music services to their already impressive Music Freedom service.  In case you are not familiar with it, T-Mobile allows you to stream music over LTE without consuming any of your monthly data allotment.  If you remember, last month they added video stream in a similar package named Binge On.  Essentially, as long as you are streaming content from the providers listed by T-Mobile, you won’t be charged for your data usage.  It’s an awfully impressive program and certainly puts the pressure on the likes of AT&T, Verizon and Sprint here in the US who do not offer anything similar in size.  Whether you like them or not, T-Mobile is certainly causing a disruption.

When the carrier started Music Freedom there were only 7 services included.  With the addition of these new services added, it is up to 44.  The good news for Android users, Google Play Music is on that list so you can stream your library while you are on-the-go care free over your data usage.

For those of you who have a T-Mobile Nexus 6, good news has come your way from Des, the company’s Product Evangelist, on Twitter. According to a post last night, the Android Marshmallow update for the device has been tested, approved and should be rolling out very soon.  The updated build is MRA58X and while no exact date was given, user could start seeing the update as soon as today if previous history is any indication.

Great News! The @TMobile #Nexus6 Marshmallow SW MRA58X has been approved & should start rolling out soon! pic.twitter.com/oiyZ5mO9MC

— Des (@askdes) November 20, 2015

With this update starting to roll out, it means that T-Mobile is the first to get Android Marshmallow out to the Nexus 6 on their network. Verizon and AT&T both sold the Nexus 6 but neither have released or committed to the update for their devices.

While a lot of announcements around Android Marshmallow has been from a manufacture perspective, for those who are locked in to particular carriers the bigger question is if that carrier will provide (translate: allow) the update to hit the devices on their network.  For their part at least, T-Mobile is address this for their customers.  Today they have updated their Software Tracking Page that allows you to see at what phase of testing and deployment the Android Marshmallow update is coming to their devices.

This list is includes devices that have already had the update ready and are rolling out, most notably the Nexus devices, while other devices like the HTC One M9 state that “T-Mobile and the manufacture have agreed to support a new software update”

Last week Samsung announced during their earnings call that they would be dropping the price on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge to more accurately reflect the market and prop up sliding sales.  It seems that those prices may be coming to market already.  T-Mobile has updated their site to reflect a $100 drop in price on Galaxy S6 and Galaxy 6 Edge 32GB and 64GB models while the 128GB models have dropped a full $200.  These are for non-contract full purchase of the phones and if you do the math, the higher memory devices are a really good deal right now.