AUSTIN, Tex.–Sprint expanded its list of markets for initial roll-outs of 5G network technology, saying that it will build out 5G in New York City; Phoenix, Ariz., and the Kansas City market — the carrier’s hometown.
Those three cities join Atlanta, Ga.; Chicago, Ill.; Dallas and Houston, Tex., Los Angeles, Calif. and Washington, D.C. as the carrier’s intended first targets for 5G build-out. Sprint said that in April, it began putting up its first massive multiple-input multiple-output radios in NYC, Los Angeles and Dallas, and that more are on the way, with “thousands of massive MIMO radios” to be deployed this year and in 2019.
The radios support “split-mode,” Sprint said, which supports both LTE and 5G on the same radio, simultaneously; sites supporting LTE are software-upgradeable to 5G without another tower climb by technicians, the carrier added. “Engineers continue to test the technology in the field to optimize the radios first for providing 4G LTE service, and then 5G,” Sprint said.
The carrier expects massive MIMO to deliver up to 10 times the capacity of current LTE systems. Sprint noted that its multi-year “Next-Gen Network” build includes upgrading cellular sites to support triband service for its 800 MHz, 1.9 GHz and 2.5 GHz spectrum as well as adding new sites and further densification through small cells. Sprint and T-Mobile US have both said that 5G network capabilities are a major focus of their proposed merger, which was announced last month. Both carriers also said that unless or until the merger is approved, they will both continue on with planned network investments.
John Saw, Sprint CTO, said in a statement that the carrier is “excited by the results of early deployment,” adding that “Sprint is one of the only operators in the world with enough capacity to operate LTE and 5G simultaneously using Massive MIMO and huge channels of 100-200 MHz of licensed spectrum. We can deploy this in the top markets across the country and that’s a powerful differentiator for Sprint.”
