GigaOM » LTE launch

Sprint launches LTE in Chicago burbs, but not in Chicago

Kevin Fitchard — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:07:03 +0000

Sprint’s rather strange rollout of its new LTE network continues. On Monday, it announced the new 4G network would be available in several of Chicago’s suburbs but not in the city limits of Chicago itself. Sprint also launched the mobile broadband service in New Bedford and Fall River, Mass.; McPherson and Hutchinson, Kan.; and Wichita Falls, Texas.

While most carriers start their new network rollouts in the big cities and then expand outwards, Sprint has launched its LTE network in far more small markets than it has in big metro areas. In fact, Sprint has only gone live in six major cities: Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio in Texas and Kansas City, Atlanta and Baltimore. The rest of its two dozen or so launches have all been in small cities or suburbs.

A lot of activity is going on in the background though. Sprint has said it will have LTE live in 115 markets in the coming months – and not just in small towns and bedroom communities. Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tenn.; Miami; Nashville, Tenn.; New Orleans; New York; Philadelphia; and Washington, D.C. are all on the list.

What we’re likely seeing in Chicago is the first stage of a more aggressive metropolitan area rollout. While many of these outlying suburban communities can be covered with a handful of cellsites, building a dense network in downtown Chicago requires a lot more work. Instead of waiting until every tower is ready to launch, Sprint is probably just turning up individual markets as soon as they’re ready – regardless of their size.

It will be interesting to see if much of Chicago proper’s network isn’t already live. So if you have a Sprint LTE phone or modem and live within the confines of the Windy City, we’d love to hear if you’re seeing any 4G signals. Let us know in the comments below.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Sprint launches LTE in clusters; promises 6-8 Mbps speeds

Kevin Fitchard — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:28:25 +0000

As promised Sprint launched its new LTE network this weekend, but it went beyond the five cities it designated earlier this month. In addition to turning up its 4G service in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio, Sprint went live in 10 other cities and communities in the surrounding areas of those metro markets.

Here is a list of the additional launch markets:

Atlanta: Athens, Calhoun, Carrolton, Newnan and Rome; Ga.
Dallas: Fort Worth, Granbury, and Waco, Texas
Houston: Huntsville, Texas
Kansas City: St. Joseph, Mo.

San Antonio doesn’t get an LTE satellite, at least not yet, and there’s still no news on Baltimore, which Sprint originally targeted for this weekend’s launch but dropped at the last minute. The carrier has released detailed coverage maps on its website.

Sprint’s LTE coverage in Kansas City is shown in orange

Sprint is charging the exact same prices for LTE data plans as it is for 3G and WiMAX data, and it remains the only major U.S. operator to offer unlimited plans. It currently has four smartphones that support LTE: the HTC EVO 4G LTE, the LG Viper 4G LTE, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and the Samsung Galaxy S III. It also offers a tri-mode LTE/WiMAX/CDMA modem from Sierra Wireless.

Sprint released a video Sunday detailing the capabilities of the new network and devices. But in the fine print of the video’s captions, ExtremeTech spotted what Sprint is promising as its average LTE speeds: 6-8 Mbps download and 2-3 Mbps upload. The top end of that range is roughly half of the 5-12 Mbps AT&T and Verizon Wireless are advertising, but this is pretty much what we expected. Sprint is only using 10 MHz of spectrum for its initial LTE network, compared to 20 MHz Verizon and AT&T are using in most of their markets. Still if Sprint can consistently deliver 6 Mbps or more to a smartphone, its customers will have little to complain about.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Sprint LTE network goes live July 15 in five cities

Kevin Fitchard — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 16:19:59 +0000

Sprint has revealed the official launch date of its new LTE network: July 15. That Sunday it will turn on its new 4G service in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio, promising speeds that far exceed what it can provide over its CDMA networks.

Sprint has already begun seeding the market with LTE handsets, which will give customers with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and S III, the HTC EVO 4G LTE, the LG Viper 4G LTE and the Sierra Wireless hotspot immediate access to the network in those markets. Sprint didn’t reveal any more launch markets, though it said it plans to complete its rollout by the end of 2013, covering approximately 250 million people.

As promised, Sprint will keep its unlimited data plans intact and appears to be charging the same rates for all-you-can-eat LTE data as it does for 3G and WiMAX. Sprint said unlimited smartphone plans will start at $80.

Sprint’s network won’t be quite as robust as its competitors. Sprint is using its PCS spectrum for LTE so it can only devote a maximum of 10 MHz to the new 4G network. Meanwhile Verizon and AT&T are deploying 20 MHz throughout most of the country. Customers, however, won’t be lacking for speed though. Even in markets where AT&T has only 10 MHz LTE networks, it’s able to deliver average download speeds in excess of 7 Mbps. Sprint’s network should offer similar performance.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.