SOUTH U.S. -- T-Mobile's coming to Knoxville...finally

That is great news. I wonder how long it will take them to get approval for towers/colocations and build out a (quality) network. Isn't the only GSM provider there AT&T currently?

 

Andy;

Yes AT&T is the only GSM/UMTS/HSDPA network in Knoxville. I understand though that T-Mobile is only going to build in the core area of Knoxville and roam off AT&T everywhere else.:browani:

 

Thanks for the information.
Well, Knoxville will get another great choice for wireless, and AT&T will be happy to get at least some of the roaming revenue of local travelers then. I wonder how successful T-Mobile will be with such a late entry into that market.

 

I think with their plans, they will be good. US Cellular is the least expensive in this area, so maybe T Mobile will give them some competition there as well.

I am pretty much 100% sure they won't be coming to my area though. I'm about 60 miles north of Knoxville, I would just about bet that the coverage will drop off at I-75 in campbell or anderson county.

 

Any guesses on when T-Mobile might start selling their service in Knoxville, TN?

 

Soon i think..They have been adding their equipment to towers in the area so said a tech from another cell company.It's about time

 

Perhaps T-Mobile would do good in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg/Sevierville area as well.
That area is loaded with tourists around summertime & the holdiays.

It would be from Morristown & southwestward.

 

Yes, that's a good area for them as well, and it's close enough to knoxville to be considered part of the area, so there may be some coverage there.

My uncle is coming in tomorrow and staying a couple of weeks, from Nashville, and he has T mobile. We're going to be making a trip to knoxville and I'll let you guys know if they were to maybe turn the network on for testing temporarily or something. even though its somewhat doubtful.

 

I checked with my t mobile phone and no signal yet..Just roaming on ATT

 

roamer, they (TMobile) would have to build approximately 75-100 sites to do that. I guess we'll see but they're going to have to hustle to have that many sites on the air by October ( I'm very familiar with most of the sites in East Tennessee), but I've not seen them installing anything yet.

 

Yeah they would have to hustle, especially with all the red-tape and approvals they have to go through. If you hear anything, please let us know though.

 

Back in 2004 Eliska Wireless (which was bought by Powertel and became part of TMO) files the following that showed their coverage at the time as part of their "saver" coverage - but they just barred their customers from using it.

 

Matt;

I know all about the Eliska Wireless deal, however they don't have any network on the air in the Knoxville market. I can't say exactly how they did it (confidential requirements) but they did not "bar" anyone from using Eliska. T-Mobile has (and continues to) roam off AT&T/Cingular in Knoxville.:browani:

 

Here's a link to some of the Tmobile building permits for knoxville
Public records: Building permits : Business Journal : Knoxville News Sentinel

 

T-Mobile bets it can grab share of ET market

T-Mobile USA is building out a cellular network and preparing to launch retail service in East Tennessee, adding another competitor to the local cell-phone market.

The carrier already operates several wireless Internet “hotspots” in the area, and it offers roaming service on AT&T Mobility’s network, which uses the same wireless standard as T-Mobile.

But in the past nine months, T-Mobile has been building out its own network of cell sites — the installations of antennas and communications equipment that provide service to a particular area — and developing plans to open retail locations in the area, company officials said.

T-Mobile hopes the University of Tennessee will be a source of subscribers as it attempts to carve out a share of the area’s heavily penetrated cell-phone market.

“A lot of our customers are what we refer to as the young and the social,” said T-Mobile spokeswoman Ann Brooks.

Brooks said T-Mobile, an American subsidiary of German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom AG, also distinguishes itself from other carriers through its customer service. She pointed to a recent survey from J.D. Power and Associates that ranked T-Mobile No. 1 in customer service among the five largest U.S. wireless service providers.

Brooks did not have specific information on the scope of T-Mobile’s planned wireless coverage in the area but said that technicians are installing infrastructure in Knox and each of the eight surrounding counties. She also said the company plans to open retail stores in the area but had no details on a timetable.

T-Mobile, the fourth-largest cell-phone carrier in the U.S., will look to capture subscribers from the five active carriers in the Knoxville area: AT&T, Cricket Wireless, Sprint Nextel, Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular. One local competitor said it would be a challenge for T-Mobile to make a dent in the local market.

“Coming into the market this late will probably have less effect than more effect,” said Tom Catani, a Knoxville-based U.S. Cellular regional vice president. “It will give consumers another choice, and it will require everyone to give the best possible service.”

U.S. Cellular has been in the Knoxville market for 21 years, and Catani said building out a wireless network is a difficult undertaking.

“It’s not a task for the faint of heart,” Catani said.

In September, the Metropolitan Planning Commission approved T-Mobile’s request to build a 185-foot tower on Rising Road, near Rutledge Pike in Northeast Knox County. Brooks said the company also applied Monday to build a tower along Hayeswood Lane, south of Interstate 40 near the Strawberry Plains Pike exit.

Brooks would not say how many cell sites T-Mobile is planning to install or what the company’s investment would be, but she did say the carrier has “a better than 95 percent co-location rate,” meaning T-Mobile will install most of its cell sites on existing towers or buildings.

Last month, T-Mobile announced plans to buy SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc., a regional wireless carrier with subscribers mainly in the Southeast, for $2.4 billion in cash and assumed debt.

SunCom has more than 1 million subscribers, including some in the Tri-Cities area. T-Mobile said in a press release that it was “committed to providing SunCom customers with a smooth transition” to T-Mobile’s service following the closing of the sale, which is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.

It's coming soon....

 

Just as i said before...Soon

 

just to update, they're live in Knoxville now. I didn't know it until yesterday I was in west town mall and saw two agent locations open, then driving home heard a commercial on the radio.