[myork]

OK I currently have the bold on my companies' AT&T account, but one of my co-workers has a storm thru Verizon (a personal account). After playing with the storm for a little while I am seriously considering swapping to the storm (on my own nickel).

My question is, if I purchase an unlocked Storm, which variant do I need to take advantage of AT&T's 3G network? Do I need one from Vodaphone (9500) or from Verizon (9530)?

Since I am the BES Admin I have the opportunity to play around (plus one of the execs has asked for a storm, and since it's not available thru AT&T, it gives me a good excuse, for R&D purposes of course ).

[rachamphetamine]

Neither the 9530 nor the 9500 will work on AT&T's 3G. You will only pick up EDGE speed at most.

[Arcangel]

Why is that doesn't the Storm work on the same 3G frequencies?

[rachamphetamine]

The 9500 was created for the European market; therefore, to my knowledge, it uses the European 3G band(s).

The upcoming 9520 for Rogers will work on AT&T 3G, from what I have read. However, there is no release date known for the device.

[Arcangel]

* UMTS/HSPA: 2100 MHz
* North America: 850 MHz GSM®/GPRS networks
* North America: 1900MHz GSM/GPRS networks
* Europe/Asia Pacific: 1800MHz GSM/GPRS networks
* Europe/Asia Pacific: 900MHz GSM/GPRS networks
* Dual-Band: 800/1900 MHz CDMA/Ev-DO networks
these are the device networks.... so what are the frequencies of AT&T and Tmobile is it 850/1900 and 1700 respectively ?? I forgot
**** TMOBILE uses 1700/2100 mhz so it seems that the storm can use 3G on tmobile not on at&t I will have to research this.....

[JSanders]

Either Storm 95000/9530 will work on ATT, only EDGE as stated, and with some added configuring to get the ATT service books on the device. There is another thread here with instructions.
But correct, no ATT 3G speed.

[rachamphetamine]

According to Google, yes, those are them.

[Arcangel]

did you guys see the added tmobile info?? here is more....

3G Americas, a wireless industry group advocating for the GSM family of technologies in the Americas, today applauds T-Mobile USA on the launch of their UMTS/HSDPA network in the 1700/2100 MHz bands. Commercially launched today in New York City, this is the first major urban deployment of 3G UMTS in the 1700/2100 MHz bands, and T-Mobile USA plans to continue its 3G network rollout across major U.S. metropolitan markets throughout 2008. Stelera Wireless also launched UMTS/HSDPA in a regional US market in the 1700/2100 MHz spectrum bands in February 2008.

T-Mobile USA is the U.S. operation of Deutsche Telekom AGxxx8217;s Mobile Communications Business, and a wholly owned subsidiary of T-Mobile International, one of the worldxxx8217;s leading mobile communications companies.

T-Mobile's announcement brings the number of UMTS operators worldwide to 216 across 91 countries, with 61 additional networks in various stages of planning, trial, or deployment. Of these 216 commercial networks, 190 are HSDPA.

Subscriptions to UMTS/HSDPA are growing at a rapid rate. According to Informa Telecoms and Mediaxxx8217;s World Cellular Information Service, there are an estimated 214 million subscriptions to date, and half a billion UMTS/HSDPA subscriptions are forecast by year end 2009. This figure is expected to grow to 1.8 billion by year end 2013, according to Informa.

Chris Pearson, President of 3G Americas noted, "The commercial launch of UMTS by T-Mobile USA in New York City is great news for the wireless industry, wireless customers, and a significant accomplishment for the Americas region. 3G Americas congratulates T-Mobile USA on launching their UMTS/HSDPA network and on their plans to expand their 3G footprint.xxx8221;

There are nearly 500 devices supporting UMTS/HSDPA technology including handsets, PC cards, external modems, routers, femtocells and notebook PCs with embedded HSDPA chipsets to support a wide variety of frequency bands.

Pearson continued, xxx8220;The 1700/2100 spectrum band is a common spectrum allocation for North, Central and South America. T-Mobile USAxxx8217;s 3G launch today will help grow the entire UMTS/HSDPA wireless ecosystem for this spectrum band at an important time, as other 1700/2100 spectrum auctions are scheduled to take place this year across the Americas.xxx8221;

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) endorsed the 1700/2100 MHz Advanced Wireless Service (AWS-1) spectrum band, also known at 3GPP as UMTS Band IV, and this band is marked for auction or reserved in many countries in the Western Hemisphere. In 2006, the U.S. government auctioned the 1700/2100 Advanced Wireless Service (AWS-1) spectrum band, raising a total of $13.9 billion for the U.S. Treasury with T-Mobile USA as one of the principal auction winners.

Later this year, Canada, Chile and Mexico are expected to auction the 1700/2100 spectrum bands. Additional countries in the Americas that have reserved this band for wireless services include Argentina, Colombia and Ecuador.
"

now the question is will the storm pick up the 3G sans 1700?? with just the 2100??

[rachamphetamine]

I have not heard any reports of the Storm picking up T-Mobile's 3G - only of it chugging along on EDGE.

[Arcangel]

hmmmm I might have to find someone with a 3G tmobile sim and try it!!

[Arcangel]

not that i would swith because there network isnt up to par but just to see

[sokkermick]

Originally Posted by Arcangel

now the question is will the storm pick up the 3G sans 1700?? with just the 2100??

No it won't, T-Mobile's 3G requires both bands, as one is used for transmitting and the other is used for receiving

I see it very unlikely that RIM will make a 3G Storm for T-mobile anytime soon. If your waiting for a 3G Storm not on Verizon (stateside that is), your going to have to wait until AT&T gets it.

[myork]

I believe AT&T's 3G network is UMTS 1900 MHz so if the specs above are correct then it appears I am out of luck.

Oh well, I can wait to see if the 9520 surfaces. I wasnt too keen on spending $500 on a handset anyway.

Thanx for the replies.

[rambo47]

The Storm definitely does not work on any North American GSM 3G. Not AT&T's, and not T-Mobile's AWS. In the case of T-Mobile's AWS, the bands are linked so you won't even get half 3G performance. It's all-or-nothing with AWS.