Skip to main content

Clearwire's LTE network to be deployed over 5,000 cell sites by June 2013

Clearwire's LTE network to be deployed over 5,000 cell sites by June 2013

/

Clearwire has announced that its LTE network is on schedule to be deployed on 5,000 cell sites come June of next year, with a total of 8,000 not too long after. There's no word on which markets specifically will be the first to get the high-speed network, but Sprint's own LTE network should still be on track to launch sometime this year.

Share this story

clearwire
clearwire

Clearwire has announced that its LTE network is on schedule to be deployed on 5,000 cell sites come June of next year, with a total of 8,000 not too long after. Late last year when Clearwire was in danger of defaulting on its debts, it received "up to $350 million" from Sprint to help build its LTE network so long as it could achieve unspecified buildout targets. Thankfully for Clearwire, its new plans will fulfill those requirements, according to comments made during the company's quarterly earnings call yesterday.

How does this all fit into Sprint's plan to get LTE to its customers? Well, now that the LightSquared deal is in serious trouble after the FCC said its network would interfere with GPS signals, Clearwire's LTE network is likely playing a more instrumental role in the carrier's LTE roadmap. Still, users should still expect to see Sprint's first LTE networks lighting up sometime this summer, starting with Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio in time for the release of carrier's first devices to use the technology later this year.