T-Mobile boosts 3G coverage ahead of G1 launch

T-Mobile USA announced Friday that it was expanding its 3G network coverage, broadening its UMTS/HSDPA footprint in advance of the Oct. 22 of the G1, the first phone running on Google's Android OS.

The carrier, which has lagged behind the other incumbent wireless carriers in 3G deployment, said its network had gone live in Sacramento, Calif.,  this week. It also said coverage would be coming to Memphis, Tenn., and Tampa, Fla., next week and to Washington, D.C., and its surrounding metro area in November. 

There has also been a slight semantic change to T-Mobile's rollout. When the operator announced an aggressive rollout of UMTS/HSDPA into new markets earlier this fall, it said it would have coverage in "27 markets" by year's end, and now declares that it will be operating in "120 cities" by the end of the year.

For more:
- see this release
- see this Unstrung analysis
- see pics of the G1

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