Can you say MetroPCS iPhone? T-Mobile sure can

One of the unstated benefits of T-Mobile’s proposed merger with MetroPCS is one that T-Mo’s customers have been clamoring over for years: the iPhone.

T-Mobile is already on a technology trajectory that will make its network compatible with the iPhone 5’s fickle radios. But tying up with MetroPCS will get T-Mobile there a lot faster. The iPhone 5 requires T-Mobile to support two common frequency configurations: 3G in the 1900 MHz PCS band and LTE in the 1700 MHz/2100 MHz Advanced Wireless Service (AWS) band. T-Mobile has neither today, but it will meet the first requirement shortly as it completes the relocation of its HSPA+ network this and early next year. As for LTE, T-Mobile won’t have a commercial network ready until the second half of 2013 and even then it won’t have a sizable LTE footprint until 2014. That’s where MetroPCS comes in.