Rural wireless operator Nex-Tech Wireless announced plans to begin rolling out LTE services across its Midwest footprint by the end of the year using network equipment from Ericsson. The network will tap into the carrier’s current 1.9 GHz spectrum holdings with the LTE service using Band Class 25 equipment similar to that being used by Sprint and a handful of other rural operators.
The initial deployment is set to cover the cities of Hays, Great Bend and Salina, Kan.; with additional coverage set to rollout through next year. Nex-Tech, which is a subsidiary of Rural Telephone, Golden Belt Telephone and Mutual Telephone, currently provides CDMA-based services across 43 counties in Kansas and four counties in Colorado. The carrier added that it expects consumers to witness network speeds of between 6 and 8 megabits per second on the downlink and between 2 and 5 Mbps on the uplink.
“Our network strategy has always been to provide the same technology that is offered in metropolitan areas to the residents of rural Kansas” said Jeff Kisner, director of network operations for Nex-Tech. “The LTE network will provide a robust experience for our customers. This investment illustrates our commitment to our customers.”
Sprint earlier this year announced plans to work with operators on LTE roaming agreements across the 1.9 GHz spectrum band, a move designed to further that carrier’s reach as well as to build support for the Band Class 25 ecosystem. As part of that move, the carrier announced the first of its kind LTE roaming agreement with regional wireless operator C Spire, which last year launched LTE services across portions of its 1.9 GHz spectrum holdings.
Rural operator Ntelos is also on track to launch LTE services across its 1.9 GHZ spectrum licenses by the end of this year.
Sprint is currently the only nationwide operator using its 1.9 GHz spectrum licenses to support LTE services as both Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility are currently relying on their 700 MHz licenses, while T-Mobile US is using its 1.7/2.1 GHz spectrum licenses to support the technology. Verizon Wireless has said it plans to begin blending in LTE support across its 1.7/2.1 GHz spectrum licenses beginning this year, with a longer-term goal of eventually using the 1.9 GHz spectrum it currently uses to support its CDMA services as well to bolster LTE capacity.
At the Competitive Carriers Association event earlier this year, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse announced plans to support LTE roaming between the 700 MHz, 850 MHz and 1.9 GHz bands, with the 700 MHz support including the lower A-, B- and C-Bands, also known as Band Class 12. The move would seem to be good news to a number of rural carriers that have been unable to garner device or equipment support for their lower 700 MHz spectrum as well as allow Sprint to tap into potential coverage provided by rural carriers that can begin rolling out LTE services in those bands.
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