Sprint's First 4G LTE Markets to Launch in July - The UpStream

Sprint's First 4G LTE Markets to Launch in July

posted Saturday Jun 30, 2012 by Scott Ertz

Sprint's First 4G LTE Markets to Launch in July

Sprint's 4G woes are legendary. With a failing WiMax partner and a government-bullied LTE partner, resulting in a terminated relationship, it has not been good for them. Their future seemed clear when they announced their roadmap, but then a series of important handset shipment delays has once again raised suspicion that LTE may never arrive for Sprint.

This week, however, Sprint has confirmed that they will be turning on the first of their 4G LTE towers, just after the launch of their first LTE handsets. Some of the markets are surprising, others are expected. The cities receiving the first round of LTE deployment are Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio, and they will be switched on to the public on July 15th. This means the wait is almost over... for some of us.

Sprint believes that their lineup of devices and pricing structure is enough to offset the slow deployment. Hit the break to see what they have to say.

Obviously, Sprint will be touting the fact that they are the last major carrier to offer truly unlimited, un-throttled data on all of their handsets. The press release says,

Sprint continues the trend of delivering value to customers through its portfolio of 4G LTE-capable devices and unlimited data experience with Sprint Everything Data plans. Sprint has already launched five 4G LTE-capable devices for less than $200 - HTC EVO™ 4G LTE ($199.99); LG Viper™ 4G LTE ($99.99); Samsung Galaxy Nexus ($199.99); Samsung Galaxy S III ($199.99 for 16GB version) and Sierra Wireless™ 4G LTE Tri-Fi Hotspot, the nation's first to support 4G LTE, 4G WiMAX and 3G ($99.99) (all pricing excludes taxes).

The offering of a CDMA, WiMax and LTE aircard is certainly something that gives them an interesting diversity. I love the idea of a device that can switch from one technology to another as load is reached. For example, at the E3 2012 press conferences, there was a lot of trouble connecting to a data network with so many people using it at once. Switching technologies could certainly make mobile broadcast for us an easier task.

Is the versatility of the network enough to get you to switch to Sprint 4G LTE, or do you need to see some speed tests before making the switch? Let us know in the comments.

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