Sprint is moving forward with its effort to expand its 4G LTE network across the country to better compete with the likes of AT&T and Verizon. Nine cities currently only covered by Sprint’s 3G network will soon light up with LTE access.
The following cities are benefiting from the rollout: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, Oakland/Fremont/Hayward, California, Key West, Florida, Fort Smith, Arkansas, Michigan City/La Porte, Indiana, Bloomington, Indiana, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Ardmore, Oklahoma, and McAllen/Edinburg/Mission, Texas.
The carrier points out that while work is being done in these cities, customers with 4G LTE-capable devices may start to see the 4G switch turn on for their phone earlier than Sprint anticipated. It should be turned on for everyone in those areas officially within a few months.
125 additional cities around the country are also on Sprint’s queue for the LTE rollout including Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.
Sprint got off to a bit of a late start rolling out LTE beginning in July 2012. It made a gamble in 2010 that WiMAX technology was the future of 4G, but clearly lost the battle with LTE. Now it’s Sprint’s turn to play catch up.
“We’re committed to providing improved 3G and 4G LTE as quickly as possible, and keeping our customers informed as to when and where they can experience the new network’s superior performance and speed,” said Bob Azzi, senior VP of Sprint. “Our customers depend on their mobile devices as their primary source of communication, business connectivity and entertainment. We’re delivering all of that functionality at a very competitive price.”