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More Deals as US Makes Ready to Deploy LTE
(16 Sep 2009, BWCS Staff)US mobile operator MetroPCS has plumped for Ericsson as the primary network vendor for its LTE network. The carrier, which became the second US outfit after Verizon Wireless to name its suppliers in the LTE market, also said it would go with Korean company Samsung for the new range of LTE handsets it plans to introduce.
Metro, which offers flat-rate mobile tariffs to its customers, said it will start offering LTE network services in its main urban markets by the end of next year. By then it will introduce a dual mode CDMA/LTE handset developed by Samsung.
Meanwhile, rival operator AT&T Mobility said it plans to trial LTE services next year in some US markets. Verizon Wireless appears to be ahead of the pack and has already trialed some LTE services in Seattle and Boston using its 700MHz spectrum. The largest operator in the US says it will have more than 30 commercial LTE markets up and running next year and it expects to have national coverage by the end of 2013.
The contract marks a second US, LTE supply deal for the Stockholm-based Ericsson. It was previously selected by Verizon Wireless as one of its suppliers for the new 4G network equipment. It is also, reportedly, one of the three suppliers, along with Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei that has been shortlisted by AT&T for its LTE network kit.
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