On TMO Doing 3G Voice Only...

BTW, you might have seen our post this morning about T-Mobile not having 3G data at launch. What I've learned from Wilson is that actually, updating networks with voice first and data later has happened in previous generations. There's history for this in pre-3G networks. (And EVDO based systems are, by nature, data only.) We're also hearing conflicting stories of rollout dates, by the way, varying between the 1st and a few days later. The point is, it makes sense that data will follow, so don't worry too much about this right now. You've waited this long for 3G data on TMO, what's a few more weeks/months/years? [TMO 3G]

5:03 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Brian Lam
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12 comments

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Kaiser-Machead at 05:16 PM on 04/30/08
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Dang...but...well....

Will I be less likely to lose a signal on the road then?
bfk at 06:30 PM on 04/30/08
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um, thats not even close to true. in fact, cdma carriers exclusively use 1x for voice, there is no such thing as 3g for voice.
capitalass at 06:56 PM on 04/30/08
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Yeah, I was wondering what the point of 3g for voice would be. seems like a lot of bandwidth for it.
TendoMentis at 07:35 PM on 04/30/08
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@bfk: Um, I use 3G for voice everyday on my AT&T wireless phone. Their is a noticable difference between calls on my phone on GPRS and UMTS.
Gofastmazda at 07:55 PM on 04/30/08
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Data speeds have nothing whatsoever to do with voice...there is, as bfk says, no such thing as 3G voice.
Gofastmazda at 08:08 PM on 04/30/08
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Also, when AT&T/Cingular rolled out 3G, they had data devices running 3G speeds on launch.
TendoMentis at 09:15 PM on 04/30/08
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@Gofastmazda:

UMTS is "3G for voice", and is what AT&T uses. HSDPA is the communications protocol that is used on UMTS networks for data.

GSM->UMTS
GPRS->HSDPA

CDMA operators in the USA use EVDO for data ONLY, and still rely on pre-3G protocols for voice.
illutionz at 12:15 AM on 05/01/08
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@TendoMentis:

First of all, GSM was able to do DATA even before GPRS but it is similar to dial-up where you have to dial a number. GPRS is the packet data and somewhat "always on" thingy....

Also, UMTS is NOT ONLY 3G for voice because when I first used 3G back in Singapore (in 2005) they DID NOT have HSDPA yet and we relied on UMTS for 3G data, voice, and video calls.

UMTS speed I believe only up to 384 kbps whereas HSDPA can achieve much much more.
illutionz at 12:28 AM on 05/01/08
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Also, If UMTS cannot do data then how the heck Nokia N75 get online... because obviously they do not support HSDPA, only supports UMTS up to 384kbps
bfk at 02:02 AM on 05/01/08
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@TendoMentis: as i mentioned, i was referring to cdma voice. gsm is a bit different, but the article had claimed that voice always follows data.
SneakerFiend at 11:47 AM on 05/01/08
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@TendoMentis: Yu actually can see what network you're on if you have a touchscreen WM6 phone.
I can see when im on EDGE GSM or GPRS.
I just hope that the Data is released by June. I think that the 3G should be released by June because thats when the xperia is set to come out and the HTC Touch Dual should be on T-Mo by then because supposedly its hitting shelves in the US in may.
Hrry up T-Mo i want HSDPA already
TendoMentis at 12:37 PM on 05/01/08
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Okay, just to clarify, I didn't say that UMTS is for voice ONLY, I said it is the "3G for voice" that others were saying didn't exist. I know that UMTS can carry data (just as GSM did in the old days of CSD).

HSDPA is an extension of UMTS in the same way that GPRS/EDGE is an extension of GSM.