AT&T bringing 4G LTE to a dozen new markets
The carrier is adding a number of new cities to its burgeoning high-speed network over the next several months.
New Orleans, St. Louis, and Cleveland are just a few of the cities on AT&T's upcoming LTE deployment list.
The company revealed today that it will bring 4G access to a dozen markets in April and May and on into the early summer.
Locations slated for the high-speed upgrade include Cleveland, Akron, and Canton, Ohio; Naples, Fla; Bloomington, Lafayette, and Muncie, Ind.; Baton Rouge and New Orleans, La.; St. Louis, Mo; and Bryan-College Station, Texas. Staten Island is also on the list, though it's not exactly a new market since it's part of greater New York City, which got its LTE boost late last year.
AT&T currently offers two high-speed networks. Its growing 4G LTE network offers speeds 10 times faster that those of 3G, according to the company. Its HSPA+ network is rated at four times faster than 3G. Adding the two together, the carrier says it currently covers around 250 million people.
Some of the newer devices that can take advantage of AT&T's LTE network include the Samsung Galaxy Note, the HTC One X, and the Pantech Element tablet.
AT&T will also be carrying Nokia's Lumia 900, the first Windows Phone smartphone to offer 4G LTE. Initial reports said the device would reach U.S. consumers next week, but a new story claims the launch date has been pushed back to April 22.
AT&T has been busy ramping up its 4G LTE network, which now covers 28 different markets. But Verizon Wireless currently leads the pack among the four U.S. carriers.
Verizon expanded the high-speed technology to five more cities last month, adding up to a grand total of 196 markets in the U.S.
Sprint is trying to play catch-up with its mobile rivals by launching 4G LTE in 10 cities come June. And T-Mobile is aiming to forge ahead with 4G LTE next year, hoping to use the wireless spectrum band promised by AT&T as a result of the breakup agreement between the two.