Check Out T-Mobile’s New Spectrum, Compliments Of AT&T.

Curious as to just how much spectrum T-Mobile is walking away with thanks to AT&T’s failed attempt to take them over? GigaOM reader Andrew Shepherd whipped up the handy map you see above, complete with each and every market T-Mobile is gobbling up. That said, residents of the west coast should begin noticing better T-Mobile service in the not too distant future — that is if T-Mobile does in fact make use of the spectrum and doesn’t sit on it for some future project (read: LTE). Though, given how constrained T-Mobile’s network is these days — they’re #4 after all — we wouldn’t be surprised if they hopped on their good foot to get more coverage/performance out the door sooner rather than later.

Not a bad ending to an imperfect love story for T-Mobile at all. They get a ton of much needed spectrum worth ~$1 billion and ~$3 billion in cash.

T-Mobile Announcing New 5GB and 10GB Promotional Data Plans With Free Hotspot/Tethering On January 25th.

AT&T seemingly stole the show this week with the announcement of new data plans. And while they go a little ways towards making heavier data users happier, it is T-Mobile pulling out biggest surprise.

On January 25th the carrier will quietly launch two new promotional, “premium” and “ultra” data plans. Get ready for it — 5GB and 10GB data plans with tethering/mobile hotspot for free. In total, you’re looking at a solid ~$20 in savings. Oh, and the best part is that new and existing customers can get in on the fun.

We’re a bit disappointed T-Mobile isn’t broadcasting the upcoming data plans on every possible medium. Both plans are leaps and bounds better than any other major carrier. At the same time, we can understand the carrier wanting to protect their network. A bajillion people jumping online at the same time thanks to the crazy promotional data plans could bring things to a halt.

T-Mobile. Come on. Brag about this!

Nokia’s Lumia 710 Now Live On T-Mobile.com.

T-Mobile users stopping by T-Mobile.com this morning will find a nice, new treat — the Nokia Lumia 710. The U.S.’ first Nokia smartphone packing Windows Phone 7 is officially (almost) here. If we were to go by mere specs alone, the 710′s 1.4 GHz single-core processor and smallish 3.7″ display wouldn’t win any awards. But that’s the great part about Windows Phone; it doesn’t need an insanely powerful hardware core to perform basic functions smoothly.

Besides all the great Windows Phone 7.5 functionality, the Lumia 710 will also be a big deal for all parties involved thanks to the super low $49.99 price (with a 2-year contract). At that price, Nokia and Microsoft are aiming at the crucial mid and low-range markets — an area where Android currently dominates, but does so simply because there isn’t really any other viable option.

Now that T-Mobile customers will have a great choice in the sub-$50 market, we’ll have to see if Nokia can reclaim their crown of mobile phone giant. It all begins January 11th.

T-Mobile Gets A Pretty Sweet Break-up Fee After Failed AT&T Takeover.

While AT&T begrudgingly heads back home wit a massive loss hanging over their heads, T-Mobile and parent company Deutsch Telekom are no doubt whipping out the bubbly. For starters, there’s the $3 billion immediate payout from AT&T. Though, it’s worth noting that Deutsch Telekom gets all this money to pay of debts. T-Mobile won’t receive even a single penny.

But there’s plenty for T-Mobile to be happy about too. First off, T-Mobile has acquired licenses for 128 new markets to use with their 1700 MHz AWS band. That translates into more coverage for their super speedy HSPA+ network and rollout. On top of that, T-Mobile has scored a 7-year UMTS roaming deal with AT&T, specifically for 850 MHz and 1900 MHz frequencies. (Perhaps that’s part of the reason for the recent unlocked T-Mobile iPhone’s hooking up to AT&T-flavored 3G bands, no?)

According to Deutsche Telekom, all the spectrum deals above will account for a nearly 20% rise in population coverage — from 230 million to 280 million U.S. residents.

So DK gets some money and T-Mobile walks away with more coverage and support for unlocked UMTS phones running on their network. Sounds like a sweet deal to us. Now if only they can turn the ship around and get people to sign up, maybe AT&T would be forced to play ball a bit more fairly.

The World Is A Better Place Now That AT&T’s T-Mobile Takeover Failed. (Really.)

Earlier tonight some of the best news we’ve heard in a long time popped up in our mailbox: AT&T’s bid to scoop up T-Mobile U.S.A had officially ended with the nation’s #1 GSM carrier formally withdrawing their takeover request.

The move comes after months of harsh courtroom and PR fighting by AT&T that, as we look back over the last half a year, didn’t really do anything to advance their position. From the get go consumer criticisms were high, though it took government bodies a few weeks to fall into line and condemn the merger themselves.

Now that AT&T and T-Mobile’s unholy union is officially dead, T-Mobile can walk home $4 billion richer while AT&T walks away empty handed and with a seemingly bruised ego. But it’s not exactly the end of AT&T + T-Mobile partnerships. While AT&T is no longer pursuing an actual T-Mobile purchase and takeover, it is believed the two will now form some sort of agreement that will see both parties sharing spectrum and resources more readily in the future. For now, however, we celebrate.

AT&T is unsurprisingly not too happy with the outcome as is evident by their official statement regarding the failed merger deal:

“The actions by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to block this transaction do not change the realities of the U.S. wireless industry. It is one of the most fiercely competitive industries in the world, with a mounting need for more spectrum that has not diminished and must be addressed immediately. The AT&T and T-Mobile USA combination would have offered an interim solution to this spectrum shortage. In the absence of such steps, customers will be harmed and needed investment will be stifled.”

As touched on above, future “partnerships” between AT&T and T-Mobile are likely, though what’s already towards the forefront of peoples’ minds is what exactly T-Mobile will do. Sure, they’ve now got $4 billion more in the bank, but such change is a mere pittance in the modern world of data gobbling smartphones sucking down profits left and right. T-Mobile hasn’t had much luck fending off the likes of AT&T, Verizon, and even Sprint over the last couple of years. Can they continue to go it alone?

T-Mobile Now Testing 1900 MHz 3G, HSPA+ 84 Mbps Service.

T-Mobile users who happen to be doing the 2G tango with an escaped (read: unlocked) iPhone or any other non-AWS smartphone might just find a nice surprise lurking around town — 3G service. According to several reports originating from Howard Forums (and TmoNews), T-Mobile is currently testing out HSPA+ 84 Mbps service and “rearmed” 1900 MHz spectrum pumping out faster 3G service in certain parts of the country.

*Sidenote: T-Mobile’s entire HSPA+ “4G” push has so far been carried out on the 1700 MHz AWS spectrum — a spectrum which no other carrier in the U.S. really utilizes making Tmo the odd man out.

Now, pretty much all GSM phones support a plethora of frequency bands due to national and global roaming requirements. With that said, while very few phones support T-Mobile’s AWS 1700 MHz band, and in turn their 3G coverage, pretty much every GSM phone supports the 850/1800/900/1900 bands. AT&T uses the 850/1900 MHz bands for their 3G, and now, as touched on above, T-Mobile is too. But there is a catch.

Don’t hold your breath for 1900 MHz T-Mobile 3G to proliferate around the country. According to TmoNews’ sources, the actual HSPA+ 84 testing and specturm rearming is going to be extremely limited to certain sections of the country, specially the Pacific Northwest, Nevada, Utah and California — at least for now. While that news is certainly a buzzkill, the lucky souls who find the planets aligned in their hometown will no doubt feel a bit different.

If you happen to find yourself enjoying some sweet 1900 MHz T-Mobile 3G action, be sure to send us a few pics (and info) to our inboxes.

Curious to see if T-Mobile PCS 3G service is working in your neighborhood? You’ll need one of these phones:

• Samsung Galaxy S 4G, Samsung Vibrant, Samsung Exhibit II 4G, Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Amaze 4G, HTC Radar 4G, Nokia Lumia 710, Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, T-Mobile Springboard, Dell Streak 7, Dell Inspiron Mini 10, T-Mobile Sonic 4G Mobile Hotspot, or T-Mobile Rocket 3.0

YouMail And T-Mobile Formally Enter He Said, She Said Battle. Claim Ongoing Talks Will Rectify Issue.

Yesterday’s story involving popular visual voicemail app/service, YouMail and U.S. cellular carrier, T-Mobile, takes a new twist today. After YouMail claimed T-Mobile blindsided them with the app removal, T-Mobile has come back (somewhat) swinging saying that they actually informed YouMail over a month ago that their app was causing “adverse network disruption” for T-Mobile customers, hence the apps removal. T-Mobile also claims that the two parties are currently in talks to fix the problem(s) causing the network issues, and that they’ll be “glad to once again support their application”.

“We reached out to YouMail in early November and asked them to address issues with their application that were negatively impacting our customers’ experience. We’re in contact with YouMail and they are working to resolve these issues. Once they do, we’ll be glad to once again support their application.”

What we still don’t understand is what exactly YouMail’s app was doing to get under T-Mobile’s skin. We’d can’t imagine T-Mobile being the only one affected if it truly is an app problem. Such a problem would likely affect all carriers. But until we get more clarification as to what the problem is, we can’t really form any real conclusion either way. Though, we’ll note that having a single carrier cause a platform-wide ban is pretty alarming. One would think there would be some sort of process for such things. Instead, it appears that as long as someone complains, Google will simple go full-throttle with the ban hammer.

T-Mobile Launching New 21 And 42 Mbps HSPA+ Networks Today.

Verizon isn’t the only one giving a speed boost to vast numbers of data-hungry customers. T-Mobile too is upping the ante by unleashing new 21 and 42 Mbps service to select markets today.

• 21 Mbps: Decatur and Peoria, Ill.; Evansville, Ind.; Holland and Kalamazoo, Mich.; Santa Barbara, Calif; and State College, Pa.

• 42 Mbps: Bend, Medford and Corvallis, Ore.; Benton Harbor, Mich.; Bloomington, Champaign–Urbana and Springfield, Ill.; Columbus, Ga.; Hagerstown, Md.; Montgomery, Ala; and Yuba City, Calif.

Pure, blinding speed. We love it.

Facing Unanimous Criticisms, AT&T Pushes Timeframe For T-Mo Merger Close To Mid-2012.

AT&T was might confident that the various government bodies needed to pass their acquisition of T-Mobile USA was an easy shot. To more technically inclined people such as your and I, it was easy to see AT&T was facing a mountain of a challenge. And yet they continually said things were going relatively according to plan.

Today, however, it’s been (shockingly) revealed that AT&T’s courtroom battles aren’t going as easy as they thought — they are extending the timeframe in which they expected to close the T-Mobile merger by three extra months, putting any closing square in the middle of 2012.

Back in March of this year AT&T originally stated that they planned on closing the merger within one years time. Now they’ll be lucky if they squeak into the first half of 2012. But even then there’s still plenty of time for both supporters and opponents to gather their cases as the official trial doesn’t begin until February 13th of next year.

AT&T PR has been working in overdrive trying to convince people (and government) that the merger will actually benefit things other than their (AT&T’s) bank account. Have they made a believer out of you yet?