T-Mobile plans major 4G LTE roll out for 2013
200 million Americans or more
T-Mobile has big plans for 2013, spelling good news for existing and future customers looking for faster connectivity speeds.
According to a T-Mobile Facebook post uploaded on Tuesday and later confirmed to TechRadar by a T-Mo spokesperson, the carrier plans to light up 4G LTE for over 200 million customers by the end of the year.
An on-time roll out schedule is helping the push, portended in early 2012, become possible.
"In 2013, we're going to get LTE rolled out to our customers even sooner than originally planned," the spokesperson said in an email. "We're on track to have 100 million Americans covered with LTE by mid-year. By the end of 2013, we'll cover more than 200 million people with LTE."
Viva LTE
The spokesperson noted that LTE testing is happening in Las Vegas, but didn't provide details on where speedier connection speeds will land next.
It already has a swath of HSPA+ 4G in some parts of the country, hitting 37 metropolitan areas last month.
T-Mobile plans to carry some Apple products at some point this year, but whether the introduction of handsets from the company coincide with the opening of more LTE spectrum remains to be seen.
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Two hundred million T-Mo subscribers is a lofty goal, but the carrier seems confident it can pull it off.
If it does, it will at least be in the same ball park as competitors like Verizon, which this week announced its LTE coverage blankets 273 million customers in 476 million markets. Not that Big Red will stop roll outs any time soon, but at least T-Mobile can start to join the conversation.
The spokesperson offered one PSA: "[The] hardware in the Samsung Galaxy Note II, which T-Mobile launched last October, is LTE capable and will require a software update to take advantage of T-Mobile's LTE network."
Stay tuned for details.
Michelle was previously a news editor at TechRadar, leading consumer tech news and reviews. Michelle is now a Content Strategist at Facebook. A versatile, highly effective content writer and skilled editor with a keen eye for detail, Michelle is a collaborative problem solver and covered everything from smartwatches and microprocessors to VR and self-driving cars.