T-Mobile today announced two significant updates to its network: first, it has launching 4×4 MIMO, and second, it has increased its network footprint.
The 4×4 MIMO (multiple-in, multiple-out) technology falls under the LTE-Advanced category. It doubles the number of channels between cell towers and cell phones, which improves capacity and speed. T-Mobile has deployed 4×4 MIMO across 319 cities.
Moreover, T-Mobile is adopting 256 QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) for downloads and 64 QAM for uploads. This technology boosts the number of bits that can be delivered per transmission. T-Mobile claims 4×4 MIMO and 256 QAM together can double speeds, pushing them up to 400Mbps. The 256/64 QAM technology is already live on half of T-Mobile’s network, with the rest to follow by the end of October.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge will be the first to take advantage of this tech with a software update planned for October, with more phones to be supported later. Last, T-Mobile says its LTE network now reaches 312 million Americans, or 99.7% of Verizon’s LTE footprint.
