Sprint operations president Steve Elfman told Fierce Wireless that the carrier will be reallocating its 800MHz spectrum, which it currently uses for its iDEN standard and PTT service, for 4G LTE use. By the end of this year, Sprint is expecting to cover 123 million potential customers with its LTE signal and that figure should double in 2013. Elfman says that Sprint has received its 3GPP certification for Band Class 26 to use its 800 MHz spectrum for LTE. FCC documentation by two upcoming LTE enabled Sprint handsets, the Samsung GALAXY Nexus and the HTC EVO 4G LTE both mentioned that they would be using LTE Band 26.
Sprint operations president Steve Elfman
According to Elfman, Sprint still needs to move its iDEN service to another spectrum block. The number of its customers using a PTT device has dropped from a peak of 20 million to the current 6 million and the carrier is planning on moving the remaining iDEN users to spectrum currently used by its CDMA service. In making the reallocation, Sprint will be reducing the number of iDEN cell sites by 33% to 19,600. The reallocation is expected to be finished by 2014, according to the nation's third largest carrier.
Before Sprint can start using the 800MHz spectrum for LTE, it will still have to get approval from the FCC according to the carrier's senior vice president of networks, Bob Azzi. Azzi says the process has started and should move along smoothly.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
Recommended Stories
Loading Comments...
COMMENT
All comments need to comply with our
Community Guidelines
Phonearena comments rules
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: