T-Mobile US hits mid-year LTE coverage goal: 230M pops

T-Mobile US claims to have hit its previously forecast mid-2014 LTE coverage plans, saying its network now covered 230 million potential customers. The growth comes about 18 months after the carrier first launched commercial LTE services.
T-Mobile US had initially announced its LTE plans in early 2012, following the collapse of AT&T’s $39 billion acquisition attempt that paralyzed T-Mobile US’ operations for most of 2011. Those initial plans called for the carrier to spend $4 billion upgrading its network to support LTE, including the migration of its legacy 3G operations from its 1.7/2.1 GHz band to the 1.9 GHz band so it could support LTE in the 1.7/2.1 GHz band.
Earlier this year, T-Mobile US CTO Neville Ray said T-Mobile US would begin tapping into its recently acquired 700 MHz spectrum assets to further bolster the capacity and reach of its LTE service. Those spectrum licenses cover approximately 158 million potential customers, with T-Mobile US stating it plans to cover approximately 250 million pops with LTE services by year end.
T-Mobile US’ LTE network is also set to begin receiving support from the carrier’s 1.9 GHz spectrum that now powers its 2G and 3G network, with the carrier working on re-farming some of that spectrum to support the LTE service. T-Mobile US’ legacy network currently covers approximately 280 million pops.
In announcing the achievement, T-Mobile US CEO John Legere also took a dig at rival Sprint using his Twitter account to proclaim: “Where are you @Sprint? I hear you’re running behind.”

Sprint announced last month that it had surpassed 225 million pops covered with its LTE network, on its way to hitting 250 million pops covered by mid-year. Sprint’s LTE coverage is also expected to receive a boost from recently signed roaming deals with a dozen rural operators, though the timing of that coverage boost is not yet known.
Both operators are well behind the overall LTE coverage of larger rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility. Verizon Wireless currently covers more than 300 million pops with its LTE network, while AT&T has pushed past 280 million pops covered on its way to 300 million pops covered by year end. A recent coverage survey from RootMetrics showed a clear win for Verizon Wireless, though AT&T Mobility came in a close second.
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