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Sprint Serves 32 LTE Markets, With 115 on Deck

October 23, 2012 | Dan Jones |

Sprint Nextel Corp. is trying to stay in contention with AT&T Inc. with Long Term Evolution (LTE) launches, adding smaller markets this week and promising it will offer the 4G technology "in more than 115 additional cities in coming months."

The operator now says it has LTE up in 32 metropolitan areas. The new towns and cities include Gary, Ind.; Hutchinson and McPherson, Kan.; New Bedford and Fall River, Mass.; and Wichita Falls, Texas.

The company is also circling Chicago with launches in suburban areas that include Addison, Bolingbrook, Des Plaines, Downers Grove, Kankakee, Rockford, Joliet, Naperville, Palatine and Plainfield.

Sprint has put up this video update on its 4G work in Chicago:

Why this matters
Compare Sprint's 4G messaging with its closest LTE rival in the U.S., namely AT&T. Ma Bell has said repeatedly that it will have 100 cities with LTE up and running by the end of this year. It currently has 77 markets, and might announce more on its third-quarter earnings call Wednesday. (See Top Five 4G LTE Cities in the US.)

Sprint is now saying that it expects to add 115 markets in the "coming months." That's up from the 100 it was originally promising in that loose time frame. (See iPhone 5: Which 4G Carrier to Pick?)

This is a race for second place for both carriers, though. Verizon Wireless now says it has 419 live LTE markets in the U.S.

For more

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile


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