NEW ORLEANS—There's been a little buzz here around Sprint's LTE rollout, and I talked to some Sprint folks today about what LTE speeds would look like and how they'll advance in the future.
Sprint is initially rolling out LTE in 5-MHz channels, narrower than Verizon and AT&T's 10-MHz channels. The peak speeds on 5-MHz channels are lower than in wider channels, so Sprint's Bob Azzi said at breakfast yesterday that the carrier is focusing on offering a more solid, consistent experience in a loaded network situation.
(For more on the speeds engendered by various LTE channel sizes, see "Why is AT&T LTE Fast in Houston, Slow in Chicago?")
That isn't the end of Sprint's LTE story, though, and that's key.
After my story about Sprint's network published yesterday, Sprint staffers reminded me that when LTE-Advanced comes around in 2014 or so, Sprint will get the ability to bond its 5-MHz channels in the 1900-MHz band to its 6-MHz channels in the 800-MHz band, potentially offering a 10-MHz channel experience if it chooses, nationwide.
But wait! That's not all!
Phase two of Sprint's upcoming Network Vision rollout includes Clearwire's TDD-LTE network in major cities. Clearwire has between 100-160MHz of spectrum to play with in some cities, and could create pipes twice as wide as what Verizon and AT&T are selling now. That won't come until late 2013 at least, though.
So Sprint has room to grow. Now we just need to hear about more than the first six cities in which the carrier plans to launch LTE.
For more from CTIA, check out the photoblog below.