Sprint announces 4G LTE availability in 100 more cities in the coming months
If it seems like Sprint’s 4G LTE network deployment has been somewhat slow lately, that’s because it has: Sprint launched LTE on July 15, and so far, it’s only available in 19 different metropolitan areas, the majority of which are not huge population centers: Atlanta; Athens, Georgia; Baltimore; Calhoun, Georgia; Carrollton, Georgia; Newnan, Georgia; Rome, Georgia; Dallas; Fort Worth, Texas; Gainesville, Georgia; Granbury-Hood County, Texas; Houston; Huntsville, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri/Kansas City, Kansas; Manhattan/Junction City, Kansas; San Antonio, Texas; Sedalia, Missouri; Waco, Texas; and St. Joseph, Missouri.
But earlier this morning, Sprint announced that it expects to launch LTE in 100 additional cities in the coming months. This includes big cities like Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tennessee; Miami; Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans; New York; Philadelphia; and Washington, D.C.
Here’s the complete list from Sprint’s press release:
- Aguadilla-Isabela-San Sebastian, Puerto Rico
- Albermarle, N.C.
- Anderson, Ind.
- Asheville, N.C.
- Athens, Tenn.
- Athens, Texas
- Austin, Texas
- Barnstable Town (Hyannis/Midcape), Mass.
- Baton Rouge, La.
- Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md.
- Boston
- Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, Mass.
- Charlotte, N.C.
- Chattanooga, Tenn.
- Chicago
- Clarksville, Tenn.
- Cleveland, Tenn.
- Coamo, Puerto Rico
- College Station, Texas
- Columbia, Tenn.
- Columbus, Ind.
- Cookeville, Tenn.
- Crossville, Tenn.
- Daytona Beach-Deltona-Ormond Beach, Fla.
- Elkhart-Goshen, Ind.
- Fayetteville, N.C.
- Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Fla.
- Gainesville, Fla.
- Gary, Ind.
- Goldsboro, N.C.
- Greenville, N.C.
- Greeneville, Tenn.
- Guayama, Puerto Rico
- Hammond, La.
- Harriman, Tenn.
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C.
- Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, La.
- Hutchinson, Kan.
- Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind.
- Jacksonville, Fla.
- Johnson City, Tenn.
- Jonesboro, Ark.
- Kankakee-Bradley-Bourbonnais, Ill.
- Kerrville, Texas
- Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas
- Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.
- Kinston, N.C.
- Knoxville, Tenn.
- Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
- Lancaster, S.C.
- Lawrence, Kan.
- Lincolnton, N.C.
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.
- Lumberton, N.C.
- McPherson, Kan.
- Memphis, Tenn.
- Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla.
- Morgan City, La.
- Morristown, Tenn.
- Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
- Muncie, Ind.
- Nashville, Tenn.
- New Orleans
- New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.
- Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News, Va.
- Ocala, Fla.
- Ocean Pines, Md.
- Palatka, Fla.
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.
- Peabody/Lawrence-Methuen/Gloucester, Mass.
- Philadelphia
- Ponce, Puerto Rico
- Port St. Lucie, Fla.
- Roanoke Rapids, N.C.
- Rochelle, Ill.
- Rockford, Ill.
- Rocky Mount, N.C.
- Salina, Kan.
- Salisbury, Md.
- Salisbury, N.C.
- San German-Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla.
- Sevierville, Tenn.
- Shelby, N.C.
- Southern Pines-Pinehurst, N.C.
- Springfield, Mass.
- Statesville-Mooresville, N.C.
- St. Thomas, USVI
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
- Topeka, Kan.
- Tullahoma, Tenn.
- Tupelo, Miss.
- Warrensburg, Mo.
- Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria, Va.
- Waukegan-Lake County, Ill.
- West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Fla.
- Wichita, Kan.
- Wichita Falls, Texas
- Wilson, N.C.
- Worcester-Fitchburg-Leominster, Mass.
- Yauco, Puerto Rico
That’s actually 102 cities, in case you’re counting. Sprint also says it’s on track to complete the LTE rollout and Network Vision 3G enhancements by the end of 2013:
During the pre-launch phase, customers with capable 4G LTE devices may begin to see 4G LTE coverage in these areas and are welcome to use the network even before it officially launches. Sprint plans to announce commercial availability of 4G LTE in these cities in the coming months, at which point we expect coverage, performance and reliability to get even better. Eventually, the markets will fill in until coverage largely matches the existing nationwide 3G footprint. By the end of 2013, Sprint expects to have completed the nationwide build out of the all new 3G and 4G network.
This is certainly excellent news if you live in one of these areas, and even if you don’t – like me – it’s great to see that Sprint is promising LTE before the end of my current contract. Of course, Sprint still has to deliver on its promises, and a lot can still happen between now and the start of 2014.
It’s also interesting that Sprint seems to have changed its strategies a bit: previously, Sprint would usually block customer access to LTE in certain markets until those markets were ready to be officially announced. Now, it looks like Sprint will allow customers to connect to LTE as soon as a tower is live. While this does have the potential to create a negative customer experience (“Why does my LTE work here, but not one block away?”), power users like us are sure to appreciate it.
Have you started see LTE on your phone in any of these markets that haven’t officially launched yet?
[Sprint]
