Regional telecommunications provider Ntelos has moved forward with a limited commercial launch of fixed LTE services in partnership with Dish Network. The offering is now available to customers in parts of Virginia, including Charlottesville, Waynesboro, Staunton, Harrisonburg and Roanoke.
The service, which was initially announced in June, uses LTE technology in the 2.5 GHz spectrum band, which Ntelos controls, to connect to outdoor routers that receive signals from Ntelos’ tower sites. Those routers are linked using an Ethernet connection to a wireless router in a home to provide broadband Internet access at speeds up to 10 megabits per second.
Dish claims the offering provides consumers with broadband speeds “comparable to other residential broadband services, but available in more areas and at a better price” when bundled with Dish’s satellite TV service. Pricing for the broadband service is $30 per month when bundled with Dish TV service.
“Results from the first phase of the program were encouraging,” explained Ntelos Holdings CEO James Hyde. “We are excited to begin this important next step to the original trial by adding customers in select markets, which will allow both companies to further evaluate the viability of a full commercial launch. The early success we’ve seen in the pilot program is a testament to our focus on driving growth by finding innovative ways to leverage our unique set of assets and expand our product offerings through strategic partnerships.”
Ntelos launched its own LTE services earlier this year, which it recently said it would offer to current customers for no additional charge on top of their current data rates.
In May, Ntelos signed an agreement with long-time network partner Sprint that calls for Ntelos to continue as Sprint’s exclusive network provider in Ntelos’ home markets across portions of Virginia and West Virginia, including Sprint customers having access to Ntelos’ recently launched LTE services. Ntelos also gained access to Sprint’s 800 MHz, 1.9 GHz and 2.5 GHz spectrum across its footprint connected to using that spectrum to expand LTE services over the next three years as part of Sprint’s Network Vision and Spark program. As part of that arrangement, Ntelos was also part of Sprint’s recently announced LTE roaming program with a dozen rural operators.
Analysts were positive on Ntelos’ latest move, noting that the carrier continues to find unique ways to remain competitive in the market.
“In our view, this 2.5 GHz spectrum … represents an important hidden asset for the company,” explained Wells Fargo Securities senior analyst Jennifer Fritzsche. “We continue to believe [Ntelos] will seek other sorts of out of the box type partnerships in the areas it serves.”
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