I have personally tested the T-Mobile LTE service in a NYC subway (the 42nd street station) using what is currently the best (big brand) mobile handset available, the LG Optimus G Pro.
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The speeds I attained are phenomenal for a cell phone. This combo is more than capable of replacing a small business or home network Internet connection through FiOS or AT&T.
This is a similar LTE speed test performed in the AT&T store in Union Square, NYC.
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The majority of my work is now done off of smart phones, so I know this stuff fairly well. AT&T charges roughly 3x what T-Mobile would charge for about 31GB of bandwidth use, while T-Mobile delivered 2.5x the speed. Now, T-Mobile's network is not under load yet, and results can vary by location, weather, yada, yada... Long story short, if T-Mobile continues to focus on being a pure play pipe provider, AT&T and Verizon will need to get their shit together!!!
T-Mobile, if they play their cards right, can truly shake up the industry. If you did not already know, T-Mobile has eliminated carrier subsidies of handsets and has instead given a 0% APR (allegedly, although an implied rate could be built into the price of the hardware) loan to have the user pay for the device directly, and has reduced the price of its plans commensurately. T-Mobile has also dropped contract requirements totally and has made a big push into its pre-paid plans with an offer of unlimited data. It is this option that makes a lot of sense for power users and techies. Today's Android phones (ex. the LG Optimus G Pro) have more than enough oomph to power an office - and I mean it. I actually do it.
With a 14 - 32mbs always on connection, you can fully replace Microsoft Office, your overpriced DSL, FiOS, AT&T, etc. connection, and your overpriced cell phone carrier with a single phone, some inexpensive peripherals and a single $70 per month ($76 with all taxes and fees included) T-Mobile plan.
This is a very big deal, for if consumers start using their heads and pull out a calculator or two, AT&T and Verizon have an awful lot of price slashing to do, and the likes of the pretty but considerably less functional OEMs such as Apple have a lot of R&D and production ramping to do as well.
You have heard me predict this in the past.
April and May 2012 I opined on the carriers
The Death Of The Deadbeat Carriers, Part 2 [9]
T [9]his week I opined on Apple, et. al.
Is It Time To Buy Apple As A Valuation P [10]lay
Of course, this doesn't look to good for Microsoft or Intel, for the Android camp is encroaching on the Wintel camp much faster than the Wintel camp is returning the favor.
I have a lot of thoughts and ideas circling these developments. Institutional and professional subscribers (click here to subscribe [12]) are welcomed to email or call me to discuss this further [13].