Sprint LTE gets first infrastructure

Sprint in an update ostensibly about 3G upgrades revealed that its switch to LTE for 4G took its first steps. Its first group of LTE cell sites had been set up in the unusual location of Kankakee, Illinois, well south of Chicago. The site was joined by the first Network Vision site to mix both 3G and LTE 4G in Branchburg, New Jersey.

Additional milestones saw it finish the lab testing for every aspect of a Network Vision multi-mode site as well as wrapping up the development and integration of the behind-the-scenes infrastructure for LTE.

Sprint still sees itself as on track to launch LTE devices in mid-2012 and will have finished the majority of the transition in 2013. The switch is primarily to remain competitive with AT&T and Verizon, whose LTE already outperforms Sprint's WiMAX in better conditions by a significant margin.

Many have also seen the LTE switch as a condition for keeping the iPhone. Apple will have to support a combination of CDMA and LTE in order to support Verizon, and the lack of widespread WiMAX network coverage makes it unlikely Apple will produce a special version just for Sprint.

By Electronista Staff