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T-Mobile Coincidentally Testing “iPhone-Compatible” 4G Network Near WWDC

John Biggs

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Biggs is the East Coast Editor of TechCrunch. Biggs has written for the New York Times, InSync, USA Weekend, Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Money and a number of other outlets on technology and wristwatches. He is the former editor-in-chief of Gizmodo.com and lives in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. You can Tweet him here and G+ him here. Email him directly at... → Learn More

Thursday, June 7th, 2012
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Network testing is hard work. You need to ensure coverage, regular data rates, and spread. That’s probably why T-Mobile happens to be testing their 1900 MHz HSPA+ signal around the Moscone Center in San Francisco just in time for WWDC.

Quoth T-Mobile to 9to5:

While upgrading coverage inside the West side of the Moscone Center, T-Mobile has also deployed 4G HSPA+ service in the 1900 MHz band to test the live network on a small scale. As part of the company’s previously announced $4 billion network modernization effort, T-Mobile plans to launch 4G HSPA+ service in the 1900 MHz band in a large number of markets by the end of the year, which will make our 4G network compatible with a broader range of devices, including the iPhone. NOTE: The time and location of this test is just coincidental.

Arguably the time and location could feasibly be coincidental, but I doubt it. Where better to test connectivity with a band of iPhones than what amounts to the San Francisco iPhone Festival? As mentioned above, 1900 MHz HSPA+ service should be popping up in other locations across the country although I suspect T-Mobile will focus on markets where users are underserved, techie, and would love to spend $30 on T-Mobile’s unlimited data plans.

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