Sascha Segan, PCMag columnist extraordinaire, was fortunate enough this week to be given a behind the scenes look at the recently announced HSPA+ T-Mobile service in Philadelphia. Even a cursory glance at the article will show his favorable impressions of the T-mobile HSPA+ network, stating, “T-Mobile’s new HSPA+ network sends other 3G networks running away in tears.” While the obvious counter-argument is that the other carriers are still fielding the basic run of the mill 3G network, Segan all but puts it on the very same playing field as the next gen 4G networks. Unfortunately, a more complete test of the network was hampered by the lack of proper equipment designed specifically to run with these speeds. However, Segan came away more than impressed with the speed on his Webconnect USB modem. Hitting speeds of 3.6 megabits/sec, while that is still close to 5 times slower than what the network is capable of, the Webconnect card is not designed for HSPA+ service.

The important thing is that even without the right equipment, all T-Mobile 3G phones are going to see a significant level of improvement with the new network. A quick test of the MyTouch yielded a threefold increase in speed “from around 500 kbps/sec to 1500 kbps/sec.” That’s nothing short of awesome. Want more details on the experience? Read the full article below!

PCMag