4G Phone / Satellite Broadband Network Planned
Nokia Siemens has been hired by an investment company to build a hybrid 4G cellphone / satellite mobile network.
The network will be called LightSquared and is set to go live across the US next year. The company behind LightSquared plans to have 4G satellite coverage available to 92% of the US population by 2015. Rather than offer its 4G network directly to phone users, LightSquare plans a wholesale business model – selling access to its network to mobile carriers, cable operators, device manufacturers and content creators.
The LightSquare 4G satellite network will initially launch in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver and Baltimore.
Sprint 4G in Salt Lake City & St. Louis
Sprint has added to its list of cities and markets with 4G phone coverage by launching their 4G network in Salt Lake City and St. Louis.
Sprint is also due to launch 4G in a number of other markets in the near future.
The list of upcoming 4G rollouts include Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston.
Verizon Launch Date for Network & 4G Phones
Rumors circulating around the mobile phone industry – and said to come from a well informed source – say that Verizon will start rolling out it much awaited 4G phone network on November 15.
Although Verizon has been testing their 4G network in selected cities for some time, no commercial launches have yet happened – despite Sprint charging ahead with its 4G network, which is now available in over 30 markets.
Verizon’s November 15 rollout is thought to include 25 markets with a “slew” of new 4G phones being released to the market on November 26, Black Friday traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year in the US.
Sprint 4G Launch in Richmond, Salt Lake City and St. Louis
Sprint has expanded its growing 4G phone network with launches in Richmond, Salt Lake City and St. Louis.
The new 4G coverage areas mean the Sprint network is now available in 36 markets across the US including Atlanta, Honolulu, Maui, Chicago, Baltimore, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Philadelphia, Dallas / Fort Worth, Houston and Salt Lake City.
The Sprint 4G phone network is also expected to launch later this year in Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Washington D.C.
Verizon Starts Testing 4G Phone Network
Verizon Wireless is to start “friendly user trials” of its future 4G mobile phone network in five US cities.
Similar trials have already taken place in Boston and Seattle but it’s not yet known which cities have been chosen for this round of testing of the Verizon 4G network. Users are likely to be restricted – at least in the initial stages – to Verizon employees and those of technology partners.
Big Red says it’s still on target to launch a 4G network in 25-30 markets by the end of this year.
4G New York, LA and San Francisco
Looks like the promised expansion of the Sprint and Clearwire 4G phone networks to New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco is starting to get underway.
A number of mobile phone users with a Sprint EVO 4G are reporting notifications on their handsets that a “4G network is available”.
It’s still early days – and we’ve yet to hear of anyone able to actually make use of the new LA, San Francisco or New York 4G network – but the technology boys and girls at Sprint & Clearwire are obviously working on it.
T-Mobile “4G” Network
T-Mobile is claiming 4G speeds for parts of its 3G phone network. It’s billing the new T-Mobile HSPA+ network as a “super-fast mobile broadband network that delivers 4G speeds”.
The service is now available in the New York City metropolitan area, including New Jersey and Long Island, as well as Upstate New York (Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse), Connecticut (Hartford, New Haven, Milford and Stamford), Providence, R.I., Memphis, Tennessee and Las Vegas. The “4G” phone network has been live for some time in Philadelphia and some parts of Washington, D.C.
T-Mobile says it will be expanding the HSPA+ network to cover Boston and more of Washington, D.C. in the coming weeks. The network offers theoretical peak download speeds of 21Mbps and is due to be available in 100 cities by the end of the year.
Sprint and Clear Launch 4G Phone Network in South Central Pennsylvania
Mobile phone users in Harrisburg, Lancaster, Reading and York and surrounding areas can now enjoy a full 4G phone service from both Sprint 4G and Clear.
The service can be used by anyone with a 4G modem – the Sprint Overdrive modem or the Clear USB Modem / Clear Spot, for example – or any WiFi enabled device like an iPad.
The Sprint 4G phone service is currently available in 32 markets across the US with a list of new markets due to launch later this year that includes including Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, St. Louis and Washington, D.C..
