T-Mobile USA announced today that their first HSPA+ device, the webConnect Rocket, will be available beginning this Sunday, March 14. Their HSPA+ network offers a home broadband-like experience with a theoretical peak throughput speeds of 21Mbps. Initially, the service will only be available in Philadelphia, but major cities on both coasts will be announced in the coming months.

The webConnect Rocket will retail for $99 (with 2 year contract) or $199 off contract. Customers who pay full price for the Rocket are eligible for the cheaper Even More Plus plans.

The new pricing plans include:

Even More webConnect data plot (two year contract):

  • $59.99/mo. for 5GB per month ($0.20/MB overage)
  • $29.99/mo. for 200MB per month ($0.20/MB overage)

Even More Plus webConnect data plot (no annual contract):

  • $49.99/mo. for 5GB per month ($0.20/MB overage)
  • $19.99/mo. for 200MB per month ($0.20/MB overage)

Unlimited nationwide T-Mobile HotSpot WiFi access is included in both plans and doesn’t count toward monthly data usage.

HSPA+ data is capped at 5 GB per month. By comparison, Sprint’s 4G WiMax does not include a data cap for mobile usage.

T-Mobile initially said they would have broad national deployment of HSPA+ by mid 2010, but it is now plotted for the end of 2010. T-Mobile recently completed their upgrade to HSPA 7.2 across their entire 3G nationwide network and now they are working to place the necessary backhaul in place to support these quicker speeds.

Keep in mind that all current T-Mobile Android phones support HSPA 7.2 which is compatible with the newer HSPA+ standard. We expect T-Mobile will have an Android handset with HSPA+ support by the end of this year.

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