I remember the thrill of making my first wireless call on a Motorola device several decades ago now, and whilst all that phone was built to do was make calls, it was pretty damn cool.
Roll forward to today and the world looks very different. Nine out of every 10 phones we sell today is a smartphone, built for surfing, streaming, shopping, FaceTiming, Facebooking, and of course, voice. Internet use on mobile devices will soon exceed fixed line access. We are moving firmly into the Mobile Internet Age.
Here at T-Mobile we have been closely watching these data trends, embracing the change and have taken a fundamentally different approach to building out our network over the last year and a half. The old carrier networks from AT&T and Verizon are choking on today’s world of data-driven mobile broadband communications. Perhaps that’s why they limit data usage or charge overages. But it’s not in our DNA to act like those old phone utilities. Their networks are based on a dial-tone paradigm. Ours was designed differently. We call this being designed data-strong.
Let me tell you what I mean.
At T-Mobile we have the most dense network in the nation: we have more cell sites per customer than any other nationwide wireless company, and we’ve concentrated them where it really matters. On top of this network we deploy the most data-friendly mid-band spectrum of any carrier in the U.S. The result: the best LTE performance in the industry.
Not only does T-Mobile continue to offer the nation’s fastest 4G LTE network and the most consistent LTE speeds, we also have more network capacity per customer than any nationwide carrier. We also provide the lowest latency on our LTE network so everything can load faster.
It’s exciting to see our customers taking advantage, T-Mobile’s network data use has increased more than six times in the past two years. In fact, we see the greatest consumption of the mobile Internet across the industry. Our network is truly built for this mobile Interent age, and is delivering against the expectations of today’s wireless consumer.
Now, while we rolled out the network at a record-breaking pace, we are far from done. The team continues to advance the network at an unprecedented, Un-carrier pace, expanding our footprint and adding more and more spectrum to LTE.
We expect to advance our LTE footprint north of 230 million pops by the end of this month and I’m excited to announce that we now have an ever expanding list of cities and markets with Wideband LTE.
We’re delivering at least 15+15MHz in 16 markets across the country:
Atlanta, GABirmingham, AL
Columbus, OH
Dallas, TX
Detroit, MI
Honolulu, HI Houston, TX
Jacksonville, FL
Los Angeles, CA
Minneapolis, MN
Mobile, AL Orlando, FL
Portland, OR
Seattle, WA
Tampa, FL
Upstate, NY
For years, T-Mobile has been launching the right technologies at the right time. And, in record time. What other wireless provider could go from zero to nationwide LTE inunder nine months? T-Mobile did. We were the first to launch Wi-Fi Calling; and the first to launch nationwide HD Voice. Because we have the right team, the right technologies and we can deliver fast network experiencesfaster.
Last month, I shared that we were the first to roll out Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and as of today, we’ve launched VoLTE in 15 markets and have more VoLTE devices than anyone else – now covering more than 107 million Americans. And, we expect to deliver nationwide VoLTE before the end of 2014. Because our network has been designed for data, we’re now able to nearly double the data that supports voice calls for superior, crystal-clear HD Voice. In fact, we offer the highest fidelity HD Voice possible -- 23.85 Kbps voice codec rate. VoLTE also offers faster call set-up times than a non-VoLTE call and customers are able to access our LTE network during a voice call.
Atlanta, GAAustin, TX
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX Houston, TX
Long Island, NY
Los Angeles, CA
Minneapolis, MN
New Jersey New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
San Francisco, CA
Seattle, WA
Washington, D.C.
And, VoLTE will be available on a fourth device – the Samsung Galaxy S 5 – in these areas starting tomorrow.
But the right technologies do not alone equal an amazing network. Because people make the network. And T-Mobile’s got the team in place to deliver the best network experience in America. My team is obsessed with optimizing every dimension of our customers’ network experience. From handset and spectrum optimization to core network design, my team ensures it all comes together when customers hold the culmination of all that work in the palm of their hand.
I couldn’t be more proud of this team. They’ve put us in an amazing position to absorb the massive surge in data demand and continue to push the boundaries of innovation and rapid deployment. I’ve said it before – and I mean it when I say – we’ll continue to innovate and build the best possible network for you.