Sprint Corp (NYSE:S) has announced that it will be launching the 5G network in more cities in the first quarter of 2019. Among the new markets that the company is targeting are Phoenix, Arizona’s largest city, New York City and Kansas City.
The new markets will add on the others where the company has already rolled out the 5G network. These include Washington, D.C, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta. The company will announce other markets as it continues with the roll out using its large amount of mid-band 2.5 GHz spectrum.
Sprint’s chief strategy officer Kevin Crull in a statement said that the company has a great LTE network and the Sprint 5G will allow them faster mobile data speed to the customers hence improving reliability and coverage. He added that the next generation of wireless technology will help in creating new connections to things and people and services and experiences which are unique and have a large impact on the lives of customers.
A Most Innovative 5G Strategy
The company was awarded with the Leading Light Award in the category of the “Most Innovative 5G Strategy” at 5G North America where Kevin Crull was delivering a keynote address. The company was given the award in recognition of its unique approach of using 2.5 GHz spectrum and the Massive MIMO 5G technology in deploying 5G.
Massive MIMO cell sites are able to deliver up to 10 times the capacity of LTE systems, hence largely increasing data speeds for customers that are in high-traffic locations. They also support split-mode hence allowing Sprint to deploy 5G and 4G LTE using the same radio simultaneously. The method of deploying equipment on existing cell sites whose software can be upgraded to 5G is very cost effective.
The company is making a lot of progress in deploying 5G
The company is making good progress in executing its 5G strategy. Sprint started deploying the first Massive MIMO radios in New York City, Los Angeles and Dallas in April. Engineers are currently testing the new technology in the target markets so as optimize radio for deploying 4G LTE service before deploying 5G later.
