T-Mobile is more aggressively transitioning its HSPA+/UMTS service from its 1700 MHz AWS-1 spectrum to its 1900 MHz PCS spectrum.
Moving HSPA+ service to 1900 MHz clears up more room in the 1700 MHz band for LTE.
“We’re continually upgrading our network and have finished building our PCS UMTS network that provides a better LTE experience for all our customers,” said T-Mobile to FierceWireless. “Over the next year, all of our AWS UMTS customers will also have access to 4G LTE on the PCS UMTS network.”
T-Mobile started this process in September 2012, but needed to get its LTE network up and running before it could push forward in earnest. T-Mobile’s LTE network now operates in the AWS band as well as in the 700 MHz A Block and 1900 MHz PCS bands.
T-Mobile will be shuttering HSPA+ service on AWS on a market-by-by-market basis. Customers should not notice any service interruptions, as most T-Mobile handsets support LTE and HSPA+ in a variety of bands.
