OpenSignal Finds T-Mobile LTE in 8 Cities

T-Mobile isn't saying where it's launching LTE, so it's a good thing we have OpenSignal to do our legwork for us. With its crowdsourced Android app, OS reports today that it has detected T-Mobile's new LTE network in eight cities: Denver, Las Vegas, Kansas City, New Orleans, New York, San Diego, San Jose, and Seattle.

"The fact that our app has detected a T-Mobile LTE network in these cities suggests that they will be included in the initial LTE rollout," OS spokesman Samuel Johnston said.

And while T-Mobile has only announced the BlackBerry Z10 and Samsung Galaxy Note II as LTE devices, OS says it's also seen T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy S4 phones hitting the LTE network.

How fast is it? Johnston said OSM's tests saw 25Mbps downloads, 8Mbps uploads, and latency around 40ms. That's extremely fast for a 5x5 LTE network like T-Mobile is running.

"Obviously the network is under a very light load right now and these speeds will come down," Johnston said.

T-Mobile is the last national carrier to launch LTE. It has pledged to cover 100 million people with LTE by midyear. Earlier this week the company treated us to a test of how the network will function after the upcoming MetroPCS merger, when it can double its spectrum in many markets to 10x10.

The carrier is having a network-themed press event on Tuesday, March 26 where it's expected to announce a new range of service plans and more details about its LTE network.

Late last year, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said the company would be moving entirely to no-contract "value plans." Tmonews has details of those new service plans, adding that traditional subsidized contracts will still be available from third-party retailers.

The full OS report on T-Mobile LTE coverage is available at OpenSignal's website. We'll also be visiting all of the cities listed above in our Fastest Mobile Networks testing this May.

About Our Expert

Sascha Segan

Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

My Experience

I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also wrote a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsessed about phones and networks.

My Areas of Expertise

US and Canadian mobile networks
Mobile phones released in the US
iPads, Android tablets, and ebook readers
Mobile hotspots
Big data features such as Fastest Mobile Networks and Best Work-From-Home Cities

The Technology I Use

Being cross-platform is critical for someone in my position. In the US, the mobile world is split pretty cleanly between iOS and Android. So I think it's really important to have Apple, Android and Windows devices all in my daily orbit.

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 for work and a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro for personal use. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, although I'm probably going to move to an Android foldable. Most of my writing is either in Microsoft OneNote or a free notepad app called Notepad++. Number crunching, which I do often for those big data stories, is via Microsoft Excel, DataGrip for MySQL, and Tableau.

In terms of apps and cloud services, I use both Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive heavily, although I also have iCloud because of the three Macs and three iPads in our house. I subscribe to way too many streaming services.

My primary tablet is a 12.9-inch, 2020-model Apple iPad Pro. When I want to read a book, I've got a 2018-model flat-front Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. My home smart speakers run Google Home, and I watch a TCL Roku TV. And Verizon Fios keeps me connected at home.

My first computer was an Atari 800 and my first cell phone was a Qualcomm Thin Phone. I still have very fond feelings about both of them.

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