With G1 the Google Android phone set to launch later this month, a lot of people are wondering can T-Mobile handle the onslaught of new subscribers, and will new subscribers enjoy the t-mobile service?

While I can’t tell you how well the service is around the US, I do have specific knowledge of the NYC area service as I live in NYC.

I personally have been a T-Mobile customer for nearly 2 years, signed up with them after a bad experience with at&t. But after being a T-Mobile customer for 2 to 3 months something bad happened.

A little less than 12 months ago something I started to notice a decline in the quality of my service. The was weird, you could be standing still with 5 Signal Bars and then all of a sudden you had no service. If you were in Manhattan your service was spotty at best. Your phone would beep with missed call alerts but your phone never rang. Calls would drop, or get crossed. I remember answering my phone once to hear some women yelling at me in Spanish.

I thought it was my phone going bad and even took it to a T-Mobile store to get checked, but then friends and business associates began complaining, so I knew it wasn’t just me. I remember once Microsoft was having a huge event on the west side of Manhattan and no one was getting T-Mobile service, not even the Wagner Edstrom Employees in fact it was so bad that Wagner Edstrom Employees and Edelman Employees were sharing each other’s phones. If you don’t know who these two companies are you probably don’t understand how amazing it was to witness that.

It was so bad that I honestly considered switching, but I was only a few months into my contact and I did not want to pay an ETF especially after paying one to get out of my at&t contract.
So I dealt with it, and maybe 2 to 3 months after the problems were at their worst, I get a little email in my inbox from T-Mobile. The email said they recently added a new tower in my area. Then a week later another, and another and since then the T-Mobiles service improved. It improved so much that I no longer wanted out. I was happy again.

Just recently I would say a little more than a month now; I have even been getting periodic 3G service with killer download speeds.
So I recently spoke with a T-Mobile Spokesperson and I asked what T-Mobile has done in the NYC area specifically to improve service?

I was simply told that they identified trouble spots and added more towers, and that they will continue to do so to make sure the network remains in the state it is in.
While the Spokesperson for T-Mobile did not acknowledge the bad service a year ago, I kind of got the feeling they wanted to prevent that from happening again, especially with the G1 on the horizon.

I then asked, with the 3G network being available in some major cities what phones are currently available to use the 3G network?

T-Mobile said “T-Mobile’s UMTS/HSDPA high-speed data network is currently available across 20 major metropolitan markets: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York (including northern New Jersey and Long Island), Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. T-Mobile plans to expand its service by the end of October to additional markets, including Memphis, Sacramento and Tampa. An additional four markets — Birmingham, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City— are expected to have the network available before the end of the year, increasing the number of markets with T-Mobile’s 3G network to 27 markets. The planned expansion is expected to deliver T-Mobile 3G services to more than two-thirds of T-Mobile’s current data customers, with meaningful expansion to additional customers and markets through.

T-Mobile is currently selling four handsets that make calls on both our current GSM network and our new 3G network. Similar to the experience with Wi-Fi and GSM handsets, these phones automatically connect with the best available network—3G or GSM. Customers using one of today’s 3G-capable handsets will experience a faster response for t-zones and downloading content. As of August 2008, T-Mobile’s 3G-capable handsets in 3G markets include Nokia 6263, Samsung t639, Samsung t819 and Nokia 3555, as well as the first HSDPA device - the Sony Ericsson TM506. We are anticipating the retail availability of the T-Mobile G1, also 3G compatible, later this month.”

I then asked, will customers who buy the G1 outside of the 3G network be notified that they will not experience the full potential of the 3G network?

The T-Mobile Spokesperson replied “Because customers will have the best data experience when using the device over our new 3G network, and because the mobile Web experience is so central to the device capabilities, we’ve chosen to promote and sell the phone at retail only in those markets where 3G is available.  Of course, if customers in other markets would like to purchase and use the phone they can purchase it online at www.t-mobileg1.com.  Customers can use our personal coverage check website to find out about T-Mobile coverage where it matters most to them.”

That really didn’t answer my question but que sera sera.

So G1 Customers, while I personally am not excited about the arrival of the G1, I do think you will enjoy the T-Mobile network at least in the NYC area. But if NYC is to serve as an example the rest of the country is only going to see good things from T-Mobile.