Yesterday, Sprint announced that it has begun working on LTE in nine more cities: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Fort Smith, Arkansas; Ardmore, Oklahoma; Oakland/Fremont/Hayward, California; Michigan City/La Porte and Bloomington, Indiana; McAllen/Edinburg/Mission, Texas; Key West, Florida; and Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
This is in addition to the hundred or so other cities in which Sprint says it’s working on LTE. But is this enough?
Sprint keeps saying that LTE will be available in these cities in the “following months,” but what about right now? The struggling carrier keeps adding new markets to its ever-growing list of places where it is working on LTE, but the number of cities in which LTE has actually officially rolled out remains quite small.
In fact, while Verizon and AT&T continually announce new LTE markets or improvements in existing markets, Sprint remains the only carrier to announce markets in which LTE is coming soon … but not quite ready yet.
I understand that Sprint has a lot of catching up to do, mainly due to its (possibly misplaced) faith in Clearwire to roll out WiMAX in a timely manner. I get that. But I’m tired of more and more promises, while network conditions continue to deteriorate right now, in the present. Rather than promising more things to more people, Sprint needs to just get its job done, and tell people when it’s finished.
Most seasoned business people will tell you that one of the keys to success is to under promise and over deliver. Doesn’t it seem like Sprint is setting itself up to over promise and under deliver – especially given the fact that so many people in so many places have been promised 4G coverage in the coming months, every month for the past two years?
[Sprint]
Hell no, its not good enough. How do you come to New York, to have this big press release for the Evo lte. Then its not one of your first markets to get a lte. Between the slow rollout of lte, and the Evo lte not having a JB update yet. Sprint needs to get their shit together asap.
Sprint needs to get it together. Los Angeles still has no LTE. Yet they continue to sell phones that are LTE optimized. I am feeling totally ripped off at this point and will be looking at the competition before signing another contract.
Looks like LA now has spotty 4GLTE, and I do mean spotty. I assume it is in the testing phase, bit I will take what I can get from Sprint since we have another year and a half before we can get divorced.
I’m very happy for all those poeple who just found out LTE is coming to their town…but what about those of us who heard it was coming to our town months ago? Wimax was coming for a very long time and never showed up in many places. Sprint…tell me that it has arrived, not that it’s coming.
Wow, I’m super happy to see Eau Claire, WI on a list finally, I didn’t think we’d ever get on the list before the next thing came out.
I’m really happy for you people in Eau Claire WI. Why Eau Claire though a town of only 66,623 people? What about Milwaukee, Madison, or Green Bay. Wi never saw any kind of 4G at all. I will not buy another Sprint phone until it comes to my town and if it doesn’t come soon I’m poop canning Sprint. Promises promises. They are just as bad as the politicians.
I’m guessing that smaller towns are easier to roll out since they need less antennas, which is why bigger cities haven’t gotten LTE yet and can be seen as having spotty coverage.
Too little too late. 2 years with an OG Evo, it’s never seen 4G/WiMax. Past weekend did a Speednet test right outside the closes Sprint store, saw 1006kbps down on the first test, 122 and then 142 – that’s right, 100′s not 1,000′s – and my phone was indicating 3G. This is in Spokane, at noon on a Sunday. Ouch. Went to AT&T, made sure the phone wasn’t on WiFi and saw 6550 to 6700kbps on successive tests, big diff. Sorry Sprint, we’ve shown you the love for years, but it’s all talk and no action anymore. We’re out….
Agreed…too little too late. I’m out as soon as my contract is finished, and taking my 4 phones with me. It’s sad that I have to use an Airwave just to make calls when I live in a well populated area that used to not have these issues. They refuse to ever admit the problem is on their end. Ever since they added the iPhone, this area is useless. They over satuated this area, and can’t keep up with the demands of the customers. I would love to just have 4G right now. Anything is better then this worthless thing they called 3G.
Sigh. I’ve loved my Sprint phones over the last 12 years. I loved my EVO 4g so much that I was ready to bite and jump on the EVO LTE when contracts came up. The only regret has been a complete lack of LTE anywhere I’ve traveled and certainly not where I lived! You’d think places that started with 4G would get LTE first – just to continue services. Nope. You’d think once we didn’t have the 4G we could get out of the premium data charge. Nooope.
Very disappointed in the LTE launch. Very disappointed indeed.
Sprint is way over promising, all I hear so far is “Coming Soon” and its getting annoying.
It’s ugly that I won’t/can’t upgrade my phone with Sprint without data speed falling 80% or more from what I get from them now. Even if LTE comes to DC in the next few months, LTE won’t support me traveling in the U.S. for years.
I’m the kind of customer that takes the money I save not owning a car so I can always have the newest HTC phone, but it would be ridiculous to trade in my evo 3D with fast wimax for the LTE with, ironically, only 3G.
I’m so very close to early termination and getting a Droid DNA.
I’m waiting patiently, but it is frustrating.
What puzzles me is when they announce so many cities that are not that large of markets (as far as I can tell…maybe I can’t tell). I would have thought that NY, Chicago, LA would be major markets to get into as soon as possible. I live in Omaha, and I would have thought that Omaha would be higher in priority than some of the smaller cities in the announcements so far. That’s the decision making that puzzles me the most–the order of the cities.
And, I have to wonder at the apparent pace and the small size of many of the cities announced to date, how they’re going to be complete by the end of 2013.
I’m eager, and the longer I wait the more my patience wanes. But, it will be here eventually (I hope).
I’ve always wondered if they were just throwing darts at a map and saying, ” let’s go there”! I know that not everyone is going to be happy when it comes to a rollout, but if it were up to me, I would start at a central location and just build out from there…connecting every spot out to both coast. Or do the opposite… I’d pick a spot that is north-central, south-central, east, and a spot west and meet in the middle. This rollout is too freakin spotty!! I’m a truck driver and if I’m lucky to be in an area with 4g, I know that once drive 30 miles, in either direction, it’s gonna be a wrap!!
I came to sprint because at the time I needed unlimited data and I get a good discount on it. but that time has come to pass. I can get a discount with verizon and att as well. I’ll probably buy the new nexus and go with another carrier. this service is so sad. I need an airave other wise calls are hit and miss.
Sprint should be banned from using the acronym “LTE” until they can at least offer it in at least ONE city for EVERY state. Once again, Michigan is getting the shaft. I’m trying to remain calm, since 2013 was the announced year for their LTE support, so maybe by then, they can remember Michigan is part of the country.
Eau Claire Wi? Why would they do that city before Milwaukee which has 20 times the amount of customers waiting for LTE? I am so fed up with sprint. We never got WI max and we still dont have LTE . Im on my 3rd 4g capable phone but can never use it. I will be so happy when my contract is up. To answer the question no its not enough they are so far behind its pathetic
I actually feel bad for all the people not in one of the launch cities. I get LTE everywhere in Kansas City…and the few times i’m on 3g its an average of 1.70 MB…but if Sprint continues to improve other cities like they improved Kansas City they will definitely be a top contender.
I knew I’d never see Wimax on my EVO. I know I’ll never see LTE on my EVO LTE. Maybe on my EVO III LTE Enhanced, or whatever they may call it. Sprint 3g sucks anywhere around here, about 400k at a good time. So no, it’s not good enough. It will be good enough when there is no 3g because LTE is everywhere. The only reason I’m with sprint is the price and discount I get on top of that. I may switch to Ting. It’s still sprint but it’s even cheaper for the little actual network use I do.
If only VZ had something like the evo lte I would have switched. I live I phoenix Arizona. last time I heard this is one of the 10 largest cities in the country. Since we never got wimax I thought it would make perfect sense to start rolling out Lte in the markets that were promised wimax but never got it; but to this day lte doesn’t even appear on the horizon for Phoenix. All the lists of cities that sprint puts out don’t even show this city. I’ve been a 10 year customer but it seems that sprint will fall to 4th place of the big for, because T-mobile has 4G like speeds if not faster in this town. The sad part is that if for some miracle Phoenix gets lte from sprint, by that time the other carriers will be working on something faster and better. So as soon as the note 2 and droid DNA are out on vz, all my 4 lines will go to vz.
Too late have the EVO Wimax worked fine now with the EVO LTE 3G is horrible and no LTE in sight.For the life of me I don’t understand why sell LTE phones with no service until 2013! I knew it was going to take time but I have had it.Sold a bill of goods ….
I stay with Sprint cause It’s cheapest for me. I have a 3d,and family all have iPhones, my phone is faster by far. Listen Sprint, I bought one Lexus because it was a sweet car, I bought a second Lexus because of sweet service. Price is not everything, I need better service.
I really hope sprint is reading these comments!
Nope
Y U NO include AZ.?!
I have jumped ship!! Sprint has been my only provider since PrimeCo… I don’t even know how many years that is!! Starting with the og evo, this 4g “thing” has been a joke!! Then the $10…ummm… “smartphone” charge was pathetic!! Seems as if they took that cheese, and bought the rights to the iPhone…they for damn sure didn’t produce any viable 4g with it… Don’t pee on our legs, and tell us it’s raining, Sprint!! I got the opportunity to get on at&t (a company I never really cared for) on my sisters business account…it lowered her bill from $255 to $242…and I give her $50…dammit, it lowered my bill too!! She got a discount for, now, having 5 phones on the account. But what’s funny, I really left because I wanted to go back to a windows phone…sprint forced me out!! Deuces!!
I’ll just jump on the band wagon here; I bought the EVO 4G and the Sprint Store assured me the 4G was coming. A year later, it was still coming. A year later I should buy and LTE phone, because WIMAX isn’t coming after all, it will be LTE – but Racine WI isn’t ever going to see it. Heck, we have lost service here – they let the lease drop on a tower here and my 3G is down to 1 bar and my voice service is worse than ever.
I don’t think Sprint even knows what the truth is they’ve been lying about their service levels for so long.
I would disagree. People have to remember that Sprint is building a new network. Almost from scratch. Thats going to take some time. If you look at sensorly.com you will see how the network is comiing along. This isnt something that can be done overnight. I think they are doing fine but if you can’t wait Verizon or AT&T would love to have you as a customer right now and charge you 30% more.
I say relax and stay loyal
The only reason I have stuck it out this long with Sprint is the unlimited data. It still blows my mind that they haven’t even started LTE rollout in the Seattle Metro.
Had the OG Evo 4G and Galaxy S2 and even received WiMax here, but the speeds are horrible. I have a Verizon iPhone and get faster speeds on Verizon 3G than I do on WiMax (and I’m not even going to mention Sprint’s 3G speeds). Sprint looked so promising at one time and several of my family members are still caught in their contracts, but not me anymore… I’m moving on and I’m bringing them with me when I can. I sent Sprint a tweet the other day asking about LTE in my city (Cincinnati, OH) and how disappointed I was and all they had to say was, “Sorry, I hope you reconsider”. Pathetic. 10 years with them. So much for loyalty.
When in the Hell is Sprint gona be truly 4g in Cincinnati, Oh? I’m tired of waiting and being told soon but no set date! UGH! TIME SPRINT GETS 4G THE EVERYBODY ELSE BE 5G!