Kevin Bostic
At a media event announcing its new payment plans and 4G network on Tuesday, T-Mobile was certain to point out that it will be the only U.S. carrier offering high-fidelity voice transmissions with the iPhone 5.
The iPhone will arrive April 12 on T-Mobile's network, along with the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, and a range of other smartphones. Making the announcement Tuesday, T-Mobile CEO John Legere pointed out that the iPhone 5 will support the carrier's branded "HD Voice" calling — a feature that T-Mobile took nationwide earlier this year.
HD Voice, T-Mobile says, is a dramatic improvement over current in-call voice quality standards. The feature requires that both parties on a call use a T-Mobile 4G smartphone and be connected to either the carrier's 3G, 4G HSPA+, or 4G LTE network.
Legere, calling the iPhone's appearance on T-Mobile the start of a "long relationship," said that Apple's phone will have access to 50 percent more bandwidth on T-Mobile's network than it will on AT&T. The iPhone 5 on T-Mobile will work across all three layers of the carrier's network, including the 1900MHz spectrum, AWS spectrum, and LTE.
Legere pointed out other benefits he said T-Mobile customers will get. Compared to a two-year contract with AT&T, T-Mobile customers will save $1,000 over the same period, according to Legere.
The iPhone 5 will arrive on T-Mobile's network on April 12 for $99 with 20 additional monthly payments of $20. Apple's iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S will also be available, but only select markets and channels.
Malcolm Owen
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46 Comments
I'm all for anything that removes the subconscious belief now ingrained in society that hearing someone through a telephone implies lower-quality audio than that which we're hearing otherwise in whatever media we're consuming.
But it actually has to be better to do that. It has been almost ONE HUNDRED FORTY YEARS and call quality is still below that of a face to face conversation.
Translation: T-Mobile will be the only carrier in the United States on which one could make a f---ing voice call.
It's too bad their coverage sucks or I'd leave Verizon behind.
Translation: T-Mobile will be the only carrier in the United States on which one could make a f---ing voice call.
And they support WiFi voice calling and WiFi TXT when there is poor cell signal.
Their coverage map seems broken at the moment but as I recall it is not as widespread as AT&T and Verizon. if you can make WiFi calls that might be enough to offset their lack of cell signal in some areas, although I'm not sure how you would receive a call but maybe you can.
Edit: After reading more it only works on some Android phones.
The feature requires that both parties on a call use a T-Mobile 4G smartphone and be connected to either the carrier's 3G, 4G HSPA+, or 4G LTE network.
So like pushing higher and higher PPI even though most folks are half blind, this feature will be pointless for most. I feel for the folks at Apple dealing with call quality complaints and having to explain that the whole HQ doesn't work with your mother who is on Verizon etc So long as these are the same phones as the AT&T I'm cool. Boss buys our phones unlocked so we can take them to our studio in Australia no issues