Ntelos completes LTE trial

Regional telecommunications provider Ntelos Holdings Corp. (NTLS) said it has successfully completed an end-to-end LTE field trial in Waynesboro, Va., with infrastructure partner Alcatel-Lucent. Ntelos currently operates a CDMA-based network and has a network partnership with Sprint Nextel Corp.
The trial included Alcatel-Lucent’s eNodeB base stations, evolved packet core, IP service routing network elements, and operations, administration and maintenance systems.
“This trial enables us to make informed decisions on how to smoothly evolve our network and incorporate 4G LTE into the existing infrastructure, particularly in terms of end-user performance, throughput, latency and quality of experience,” said Bobby McAvoy, SVP of wireless engineering and operations for Ntelos Wireless.
Ntelos did not provide any information on commercial LTE plans.
Ntelos late last year announced plans to split its telecommunications operations between its wireless and wireline services in a move the company said would maximize the value of both operations for shareholders. Ntelos Wireless includes a retail business providing services in parts of Virginia and West Virginia and a wholesale business that caters to Sprint Nextel’s CDMA operations.
Ntelos’ wireless business served 433,698 retail customers at the end of the third quarter with a network covering 5.6 million potential customers with an average of 23 megahertz of spectrum.