T-Mobile USA plans to have more than 20 markets lit with 3G coverage when it begins selling the first ever Google Android phone in October. But will it be enough to entice smartphone consumers to choose the HTC Dream over the iPhone 3G or even the BlackBerry Bold?

The verdict is still out on that one.

Even though the Android-based HTC Dream hasn’t been officially
announced, most people believe it will support 3G speeds when T-Mobile
unveils it next week. And given the fact that it will compete
head-to-head with Apple’s iPhone 3G and newer versions of Research in Motion‘s BlackBerry devices, it really needs to be 3G.

The biggest problem for T-Mobile has been its nearly nonexistent 3G
network. T-Mobile launched its 3G service in New York in May. Since
then, it has added service in 12 other markets including, Austin,Texas,
Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas,
Miami, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland, Ore., San Antonio, and San
Diego. And on Thursday T-Mobile said it would expand its 3G coverage
from 13 markets to 27 markets by the end of the year. The expansion
will provide 3G access to more than two-thirds of T-Mobile’s current customer base, the company said. T-Mobile also plans to keep expanding coverage in 2009.

By mid-October, when the HTC Dream hits the market, the company will
expand 3G coverage to additional markets including, Atlanta, Chicago,
Los Angeles, Orlando, Fla., Philadelphia, Sacramento, Calif., San Francisco,
and Seattle. And by the end of the year, six more markets will get 3G:
Birmingham, Ala., Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Memphis, Tenn., and
Tampa, Fla. Getting the 3G service up and running in as many markets as
possible is key to T-Mobile’s overall strategy. But even with the
planned network expansion, T-Mobile will still be woefully behind its
competitors when it comes to its 3G coverage.

Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel have the largest 3G footprints. AT&T
plans to have 3G deployed in 350 markets by the end of the year, but it
has still been criticized for not having enough of its network covered
with 3G to satisfy some iPhone 3G
users. T-Mobile’s lack of 3G coverage could lead customers–even those
who are hot to try an Android phone–willing to wait for a different
Android handset on another carrier’s network.

Via Yahoo