T-Mobile Celebrates LTE Rollout Anniversary With Network Upgrade Launch

March 19, 2014

How else should a carrier mark the anniversary of its LTE rollout but by announcing a network upgrade?

T-Mobile US did just that this month. As its LTE network rollout surpassed 210 million people in 273 metro areas, the carrier (or uncarrier, as they like to be called) announced that it is upgrading its 2G/EDGE network with 4G LTE. The company plans to complete 50 percent of the work this year alone, and expects the program to be substantially complete by the middle of next year.

The upgrade will provide customers who have 2G/EDGE coverage with new access to 4G LTE and provide expanded coverage for those already covered by LTE. In addition, T-Mobile plans to begin deploying 4G LTE this year in the new 700-MHz A-Block spectrum that it is in the process of acquiring.

T-Mobile noted that it deployed its LTE network nationwide in just six months, from March to September 2013 at a “pace unprecedented in the U.S. wireless industry.” The carrier projected that its LTE network will reach 230 million people by mid-year 2014 and 250 million people by year’s end.

“Through this major new network upgrade program, and other initiatives already underway, we’re driving hard toward our multi-billion dollar strategy to further improve what is already an amazing network experience for our customers,” said Neville Ray, chief technology officer for T-Mobile.

In addition to these network updates, T-Mobile announced that it has taken legal action against Verizon, demanding that it cease and desist its network map advertising, arguing that Verizon unfairly depicted the speed and breadth of the wireless technologies that T-Mobile uses.