With most of the news focused on Verizon and its LTE broadband launch on the 5th December another significant improvement to the LTE network of one of the major US network operators may have almost been overlooked.
Las Vegas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth and Philadelphia currently offered LTE broadband access by the fifth biggest network provider in the US, MetroPCS and it has now extended its network to cover San Francisco.
The network operator has provided those living in the San Francisco area with a map showing them whether they are covered, although this latest expansion by MetroPCS covers around 80 percent of its Bay Area territory and also extends from the southern tip of Santa Clara all the way up to Santa Rosa.
One of the big differences between the latest expansion by MetroPCS and the imminent launch of Verizon’s new LTE network is that MetroPCS already has an LTE-compatible mobile handset available to use on its network whilst Verizon currently doesn’t even though its LTE network is now live. Verizon currently only provides two USB LTE modems for its users, whilst MetroPCS offer its users a Samsung Craft cell phone.
Another is the huge difference in how much MetroPCS charges its users for access to its LTE network compared to providers like Sprint and Verizon, with MetroPCS charging far less than its rivals for access. The plan from MetroPCS offers users unlimited text and data usage on a non-contract plan for just $60 per month compared to the $50 a month contract LTE plan from Verizon that only provides users with 5GB of data access each month. The plans offered by Sprint are even more expensive with its users having to pay $80 for its cheapest WiMAX mobile broadband plan.
Source – The Next Web