Which carriers have 3G?

Three of the big four carriers (now that AT&T has acquired Cingular and Sprint has gobbled up Nextel) have rolled out 3G services, with T-Mobile being the lone exception. However, T-Mobile is planning a 3G rollout beginning the summer of 2008. Read on for the details.

• Current network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA
• 3G available now? Yes, in more than 165 markets: Available in most major cities, plus a few in Puerto Rico. Check to see if your city is covered.
• 3G plans: Support for UMTS cell phones launched in early 2006, with HSDPA coming online later in the year. The carrier also launched its AT&T Video multimedia service, as well as its AT&T Music mobile music portal.
• Supported handsets include: Motorola Razr2 V9, AT&T Tilt, Motorola Q9h, Pantech Duo, LG CU515, Samsung BlackJack II, LG CU720 Shine, Samsung SLM SGH-A747.

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• Current network: CDMA/1xRTT/1xEV-DO
• 3G available now? Yes, in more than 220 markets: Available in most major cities. Check to see if your city is covered.
• 3G plans: Sprint began its roll out its EV-DO 3G service in late 2005. With more markets than Verizon, the carrier has expanded its network further in 2006. For entertainment, Sprint offers its Power Vision multimedia service and its Sprint Music Store. Meanwhile, Nextel's push-to-talk service has migrated to the 1xEV-DO service sometime in 2007.
• Supported handsets include: Sanyo Katana DLX 8500, Palm Centro, HTC Touch, Motorola Q9c, Samsung Ace SPH-i325, Samsung SPH-M520.

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• Current network: GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Planned 3G network: UMTS/HSPDA
• 3G available now? No
• 3G plans: T-Mobile is trailing the competition in the race to 3G. Representatives for the carrier say that T-Mobile will bring its 3G services to market in the summer of 2008. What's more, T-Mobile officials announced in December 2004 that the carrier will probably jump directly to the HSPDA-enhanced version of UMTS, rather than launch UMTS first and add HSPDA later.
• ETA for nationwide service: 2008

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• Current network: CDMA/1xRTT
• 3G available now? Yes, in more than 240 markets: Available in most major cities. Check to see if your city is covered.
• 3G plans: Verizon jumped on the 3G bandwagon early, launching 1xEV-DO service in San Diego and Washington, D.C., in October 2003. While 3G service is available across the country, coverage is limited outside of large and midsize metropolitan areas. Verizon also offers V Cast, a consumer broadband service with on-demand video, 3D gaming, and streaming music videos and V Cast Music for wireless music downloads. The company has also rolled out V Cast Mobile TV, a service that lets you watch live television right from your cellphone.
• Supported handsets include: Samsung SCH-i760, Motorola Rizr Z6tv, LG Voyager VX10000, LG Venus VX8800, RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8130, Samsung FlipShot SCH-U900, Motorola Z6c, UTStarcom XV6800.

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