Sprint is wasting no time expanding its young but thriving LTE network.
The nation’s third largest carrier announced that it will be launching LTE service in four new markets, bringing the grand total to six markets so far.
All told, Sprint’s LTE ambitions are alive and well in Baltimore, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio. The company, however, continues testing its 4G in a number o areas – including places that haven’t been “officially” announced yet.
Current plans indicate that Sprint’s LTE network will be close to finished and wholly operational as of late 2013.
Although a good deal of time remains between then and now, most mobile customers aren’t in a major hurry for 4G LTE.
Piper Jaffray’s Christopher Larsen recently surveyed 1,000 online participants about 4G networks to discover this surprising reality.
“Our survey found that 47% of consumers feel they don’t need 4G and that an additional 26% feel that all 4G network technologies are the same,” Larsen says. “Only 15% of those surveyed picked out LTE as the best network technology. We think this shows that despite all the 4G advertising, consumers aren’t really focused on it. This is good for Sprint as the LTE coverage laggard of the three national iPhone carriers.”
