When you buy a 3G phone, you want to be able to use it at super-fast broadband speeds on your carrier's cellular network, right? Well, shortly after introducing the first Google phone, the Android-run G1, the other day, T-Mobile revealed it was capping 3G data usage for the handset at only 1GB. If you went beyond that amount your throughput speeds would be reduced to a mere 50Kbps for the remainder of the month.
This little bit of fine print was met - not surprisingly - with cries of outrage, leading T-Mobile to change its position on the matter. In a new statement, the carrier revealed it was lifting the cap. Here's what it had to say:
Our goal, when the T-Mobile G1 becomes available in October, is to provide affordable, high-speed data service allowing customers to experience the full data capabilities of the device and our 3G network. At the same time, we have a responsibility to provide the best network experience for all of our customers so we reserve the right to temporarily reduce data throughput for a small fraction of our customers who have excessive or disproportionate usage that interferes with our network performance or our ability to provide quality service to all of our customers. We removed the 1GB soft limit from our policy statement, and we are confident that T-Mobile G1 customers will enjoy the high speed of data access over our 3G network. The specific terms for our new data plans are still being reviewed and once they are final we will be certain to share this broadly with current customers and potential new customers.
Kudos to T-Mobile for the quick turnaround; so, perhaps, we can cut the mobile operator some slack. After all, as the last major carrier to roll out a high-speed cellular-wireless broadband network in this country, it's new to the 3G game.
Last week, T-Mobile announced its 3G network would be commercially available in 21 markets by the middle of October. It plans to have 3G service up and running in 27 markets by the end of the year. You can check to see if the carrier has 3G service in your area yet here.