MetroPCS, the first North American operator to light up an LTE network with an initial launch in Las Vegas, has now brought the high speed service to the cities of Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The only problem is that the sole LTE capable device they offer, the Samsung Craft, is nothing more than a feature phone with a 4G logo on the front. But hey, whatever, tell people you have a 4G network and they’ll line up around the block to buy your gear, right?
The other, more impressive, bit of news out of MetroPCS is that they’ve increased their coverage map to now cover 90% of Americans. Since they’re a CDMA operator, then the only possible explanation for this sudden increase in network reach has to be that they’ve signed an agreement with either Verizon Wireless or Sprint. That in it of itself makes no sense since the two previously mentioned operators are trying their hardest to break into the prepaid space … unless MetroPCS is paying an attractive rate.
Whatever. At the end of the day the only operator who talks LTE and is worth listening to is Verizon Wireless, who is due to light up their network by the end of this month and will have a slew of devices hitting the market during the first half of 2011. Whether or not that includes Android smartphones is another story all together, but in case you need speed, and you need it right now, your best bet is to go with T-Mobile and their 21 Mbps HSPA+ network that’s going to double in speed to 42 Mbps next year. You can also bet that there are going to be a huge number of HSPA+ capable smartphones hitting the market during the next 12 months compared to LTE handsets, which has yet to have all the bugs ironed out and does not offer a standard way of doing voice and SMS.