T-Mobile USA joins 4G marketing frenzy

Taking a cue from its competitors, T-Mobile USA Inc. (DTEGY) is throwing caution (and some would say reason) to the wind in tagging its evolution beyond its 3G network with the 4G label.
The carrier said it plans to use the 4G tag to promote its rapidly expanding HSPA+ network that the carrier said provides network speeds comparable with what its competitors are claiming for their “4G” networks. Those comparable networks would be Sprint Nextel Corp.’s (S) WiMAX network, which the carrier markets under the “4G” brand name, as well as Verizon Wireless’ (VZ) impending launch of LTE-based services that it also is not afraid to tag with the “4G” label.
T-Mobile USA previously referred to its HSPA+ service as providing “4G-like” speeds.
All of these claims come despite the fact none of the current versions of these technologies meet the International Telecommunications Union’s official labels for defining 4G technology.
“4G is about performance and today T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network is delivering 4G speeds that match and often beat WiMAX and are comparable to what early LTE will deliver,” explained T-Mobile USA’s CTO Neville Ray in a statement.
To further bolster the “legitimacy” of the network, the carrier will begin claiming in national television and digital advertisements that it has “America’s Largest 4G Network.”
And furthering that coverage claim, T-Mobile USA said it has expanded its HSPA+ service to six metro areas, bringing its total coverage to 75 metro areas on its way to covering 100 metro areas and 200 million potential customers by the end of the year. The new markets include Chicago; Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington, N.C.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Ft. Wayne, Ind.; and Louisville, Ky.
Clearwire Corp., which supplies the WiMAX network for Sprint Nextel, currently covers more than 80 million pops with plans to cover 120 million pops by year-end, while Verizon Wireless has said it plans to cover more than 100 million pops in 38 markets with its LTE network by the end of the year.
T-Mobile USA’s current version of HSPA+, the one that it’s tagging with the “4G” designation, can provide theoretical network speeds of up to 21 megabits per second on the downlink, though the carrier has said it plans to upgrade further to 42 Mbps beginning next year. By comparison, AT&T Mobility is currently in the process of upgrading its HSPA+ capabilities to the 14.4 Mbps version, with plans to supplant service with its LTE network beginning next year.
The move to tag its service with the “4G” label makes marketing sense for T-Mobile USA as it currently lacks the spectrum depth to support an entirely new network that would be required to launch LTE services. The carrier has been rumored to be in talks with several parties about either acquiring additional spectrum or partnering as a mobile virtual network operator to offer more advanced services.
Despite what would appear to be a great way to confuse customers about what 4G means, T-Mobile USA danced around the issue by claiming customers will be able to see the service for themselves in the carrier’s retail stores. In support of those claims, T-Mobile USA expanded its HSPA+ device lineup with the launch of the HTC Corp. MyTouch 4G smart phone, running the latest version of Google Inc.’s Android operating system, and the Dell Inc. Inspiron Mini 10 4G netbook that includes an embedded cellular modem. The new devices join the WebConnect Rocket 2.0 wireless modem and HTC G2 smart phones in the carrier’s HSPA+ lineup.
T-Mobile USA earlier this week unveiled new tiered data packages for its smart-phones devices beginning at $10 per month for 200 megabytes of data transmission.