T-Mobile is doubling down at CTIA on 4G, literally. The carrier has announced that it has lit up Orlando, Las Vegas, and New York with a network upgrade that can deliver theoretical download speeds of 42 Mbps. Since we're in Orlando, we swung by T-Mobile's both to see just how fast T-Mobile is getting.
Using the new T-Mobile Rocket 3.0 data stick, made by ZTE, we saw a blazing download rate of 25 Mbps. That's on a par or faster that the best speeds we've seen from Verizon's LTE data sticks. Upload speeds weren't as impressive, registering 2.7 Mbps, compared to 5 to 12 Mbps for LTE. Still, if these speeds hold true, T-Mobile's network will definitely lap Sprint's Mobile WiMax, which peaks at 10 Mbps.
T-Mobile says that it will continue to expand its 42 Mbps upgrades to Chicago, Long Island, N.Y, and North New Jersey, and that 140 million Americans in 25 cities will see increased 4G speeds by mid-year. No word yet on pricing for the Rocket 3.0, but it will go on sale later this spring.
