T-Mobile USA to launch LTE in 2013

News Wireless United States 23 FEB 2012
T-Mobile USA to launch LTE in 2013
T-Mobile USA announced plans to invest USD 4 billion to upgrade its network and launch LTE services in 2013. Over the next two years, this represents around USD 1.4 billion in incremental network investment. T-Mobile expects to reach broad deployment of LTE, with service in the vast majority of the top 50 markets and 20 MHz service in 75 percent of the top 25 markets. The mobile operator said the investment is part of its "reinvigorated challenger strategy", after the collapse of its proposed merger with AT&T due to regulatory opposition. In addition to the network upgrade, T-Mobile said it will be "aggressively" pursuing the B2B segment, expanding the sales force by 1,000, ramping up advertising spending, and attracting new MVNO partners. T-Mobile will also continue to remodel its retail stores and expand distribution. The network strategy includes installing new equipment at 37,000 cell sites and refarming spectrum to launch LTE in 2013. The refarming is part of the additional spectrum T-Mobile will receive as a result of the termination of the AT&T transaction. The plan includes reducing the amount of 1900 MHz PCS spectrum being used for GSM, deploying HSPA+ services in the PCS band and making room in the AWS band for LTE. In addition to creating capacity for LTE in AWS spectrum, deploying HSPA+ in the PCS band will harmonize T-Mobile's spectrum bands with the US market and international carriers.

Categories:

Mobile

Companies:

T-Mobile USA

Countries:

United States

Tags:

Production planning & operations, Government telecommunications licensing, Data services, 3G, Network equipment, GSM - 2G, Wireless, Sales, HSPA, 4G - LTE, Corporate strategy

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