We just received a shot of an internal AT&T memo detailing the carrier’s intention to start transitioning to LTE-capable SIM cards. AT&T has started preparing employees for a new SIM card that will be used for LTE handsets and devices, all except the iPhone 4 since that uses a microSIM card. AT&T tells employees to verify the SIM card is correct by checking the SKU on the card even though the new LTE cards are visibly different, just to be safe we’re assuming. It also appears there will be up to “eight different SIMs” during the transition, so verifying the SKU might be the only way to go. Well, it’s a start, no?

Via a press release, pre-paid wireless carrier MetroPCS has announced the addition of a third city to its U.S., LTE portfolio, Detroit. “With a state-of-the-art 4G LTE network and an advanced entertainment handset with a brilliant AMOLED screen, MetroPCS’ predictable, flexible and affordable service plans provide a compelling value to consumers while meeting their growing demand to do more with video, social networking and higher speed Internet access,” quips the press release. Metro has already gone live with LTE in Las Vegas and Dallas/Fort Worth. The company’s LTE service plans are quite affordable, at just $55 and $60 — utilization of said 4G plans are obviously geographically-limited for the time being. Hit the jump for the full press release.

MetroPCS Brings First Commercial 4G LTE Services to Detroit Metropolitan Area Consumers

DALLAS, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ — MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) today introduced the first commercial 4G LTE services in Detroit, Mich., with monthly plans starting at$55, including all taxes and regulatory fees. Detroit consumers will enjoy 4G Web access along with unlimited voice and text services on the world’s first commercially available 4G LTE-enabled handset from Samsung Mobile, the Samsung Craft™.

Detroit is the third U.S. city where MetroPCS is offering commercial 4G LTE service, with additional major metropolitan areas to follow later this year and into early 2011. With a state-of-the-art 4G LTE network and an advanced entertainment handset with a brilliant AMOLED screen, MetroPCS’ predictable, flexible and affordable service plans provide a compelling value to consumers while meeting their growing demand to do more with video, social networking and higher speed Internet access.

“MetroPCS is taking Wireless for All® to the next level with unlimited, affordable LTE service,” said Roger D. Linquist, president, CEO and chairman of MetroPCS. “Expanding our 4G LTE network to Detroit marks a key milestone for the Company by bringing 4G mobile broadband services to area customers and consumers who want to experience more and who demand more value. We look forward to expanding 4G LTE coverage throughout Eastern and Western Michigan throughout 2011.”

MetroPCS offers monthly 4G LTE service plans for $55 and $60, which includes 4G Web access along with unlimited nationwide talk and text initially, on an unlimited basis. In addition, Detroit customers will now have access to new applications and features that take advantage of MetroPCS’ 4G LTE network, including:

• MetroSTUDIO(SM), powered by RealNetworks, available on the $60 service plan, includes access to entertainment content that consumers demand, such as full-track downloads, ringtones and ring-back tones, as well as premium video content from NBC Universal, Black Entertainment Television (BET) and Univision, available on-demand and on-the-go from one easy-to-use application.
• A new social networking and instant messaging application which harnesses notifications, friends and content from Facebook, MySpace and Twitter social networks and AIM, MSN and Yahoo! IM clients into a single interface that consumers can access with one click.
• Upgraded MetroNavigator® feature with the addition of voice-activated GPS and turn-by-turn directions.

MetroPCS is initially offering the Samsung Craft in Detroit area stores and online for $299 plus tax, after $50 instant rebate, while supplies last. The Craft delivers a stunning visual experience with its 3.3 inch AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) screen, and comes with a 2GB MicroSD card pre-loaded with Paramount Pictures’ hit movie “Star Trek-The Future Begins.” The device also includes a combination touch screen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Samsung’s TouchWiz™ user interface to surf and text message, 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and camcorder and Wi-Fi capability.

“With the launch of Detroit’s first and only commercial 4G LTE service and the Samsung Craft, MetroPCS is giving Detroit customers the power to do more with the mobile Internet every day, when and where they need it,” said Glen Flowers, vice president and general manager of MetroPCS Michigan. “By offering premium 4G LTE service on a no-contract basis, Detroit residents will be able to seamlessly access social networks, find the best route to work, catch the latest hit TV shows, or download and share music, video and photos all from the palm of their hand.”

MetroPCS recently launched 4G LTE service in Las Vegas and Dallas-Fort Worth, and 4G LTE network rollouts are planned for later this year and early 2011 in the remaining MetroPCS U.S. markets, including Boston, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Los Angeles,New York, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco and Tampa. MetroPCS plans to further expand 4G LTE coverage in 2011 along with the launch of additional devices to increase MetroPCS’ portfolio of feature phones, touch screens, smartphones and 4G handsets.

Read

Verizon isn’t the only wireless company making LTE news today. Canadian carrier Rogers Communications has announced the launch of a “comprehensive Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network technical trial with Ericsson Canada in the Ottawa area.” The company will initially use AWS spectrum for the trial, but notes that it is “working with Industry Canada to secure a development license to use 700 MHz spectrum.” Bob Berner, Rogers’ EVP and CTO, said, “Through this trial we will validate how LTE technology will perform in real world situations across a variety of spectrum frequencies in urban, suburban, and rural environments. Furthermore, we will verify LTE data throughput speeds, performance quality, and interoperability of LTE with our existing advanced HSPA+ network ensuring that future commercial deployment enables the best customer experience.” Welcome to the 4G party Canadian friends.

Read

Today at CTIA, Verizon Wireless announced that its next generation, LTE, 4G network will cover 38 major U.S. cities and 60 additional airports by the end of 2010. Some of the initial cities getting LTE include: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. The official press release, with a full list of cities an airports, is after the break.

Verizon Launches 4G LTE In 38 Major Metropolitan Areas by the End of the Year

4G LTE Network Also in Airports in Key Cities Outside of Initial Launch Area

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ – Verizon underscored its rapid deployment of the world’s first large-scale 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network today from the CTIA Enterprise & Applications™ 2010 conference. Lowell McAdam, president and chief operating officer of Verizon, detailed the company’s major network launch in 38 major metropolitan areas, covering more than 110 million Americans, by the end of the year. In addition, the company is launching 4G LTE in more than 60 commercial airports coast to coast – both the airports within the launch areas plus airports in other key cities.

McAdam said, “We are driven by the vision to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband connectivity and mobility to rural and urban Americans alike. With our initial 4G LTE launch, we will immediately reach more than one-third of all Americans where they live, right from the start. And, we will quickly introduce 4G LTE throughout the Verizon coverage area.”

McAdam highlighted the metropolitan areas for the initial launch, which include:

• Large sections of the Northeast Corridor, including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and
• Washington, D.C. as well as Rochester, New York
• Throughout Miami and south Florida, Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and New Orleans as well as
• Charlotte, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee
• Chicagoland, St. Louis, the Twin Cities, Pittsburgh and major cities in Ohio
• Major population centers in California as well as Seattle, Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas

Verizon Wireless is building its 4G LTE network with the same commitment to performance and reliability for which it has long been recognized. Verizon Wireless’ laser focus on reliability is based on rigid engineering standards and a disciplined deployment approach year after year.

Enterprise users, businesses and individuals can immediately benefit from Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network this year. While Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network promises much more than speed, the first application gives employees the ability to work at significantly faster speeds and improved latency, increasing productivity and the opportunity to get work done where their business takes them.

McAdam continued, “Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network will also be available in the commercial airports in the 38 metropolitan areas, plus we’re launching airports in other key cities coast to coast, giving road warriors added coverage when they travel. Every time we’ve built a next generation network, our customers have seen real benefits to their bottom lines. Taking advantage of the first large-scale LTE network on the globe gives our customers a competitive advantage.”

Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE rollout positions the company to be the global leader in 4G LTE deployment. Verizon Wireless expects 4G LTE average data rates to be 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink in real-world, loaded network environments. These speeds are significantly faster than Verizon Wireless and other wireless providers’ current or promised 3G network speeds.

By leveraging its 700 MHz spectrum for LTE deployment in the United States, Verizon Wireless is capable of quickly deploying a high-quality wireless broadband network with excellent coverage. The company is currently installing LTE equipment at existing cell sites and switching centers around the United States as part of its extensive, ongoing investment in its voice and data network infrastructure.

In addition to the 38 major metropolitan areas, Verizon Wireless is launching its 4G LTE network in West Lafayette, Ind., home of Purdue University. The public university is using several innovative software applications on Verizon Wireless’ 3G network that improve student engagement and success, and Verizon Wireless is working with Purdue to explore the next phase of how 4G LTE technology can improve e-learning across the nation.

Visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte for more information about Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network.

Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Initial Major Metropolitan Area Deployment

• Akron, Ohio
• Athens, Georgia
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Baltimore, Maryland
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Charlotte, North Carolina
• Chicago, Illinois
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Columbus, Ohio
• Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Dallas, Texas
• Denver, Colorado
• Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Houston, Texas
• Jacksonville, Florida
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Los Angeles, California
• Miami, Florida
• Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota
• Nashville, Tennessee
• New Orleans, Louisiana
• New York, New York
• Oakland, California
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Orlando, Florida
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Rochester, New York
• San Antonio, Texas
• San Diego, California
• San Francisco, California
• San Jose, California
• Seattle/Tacoma, Washington
• St. Louis, Missouri
• Tampa, Florida
• Washington, D.C.
• West Lafayette, Indiana
• West Palm Beach, Florida

Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Initial Commercial Airport Deployment (Airport Name, City, State)

• Austin Bergstrom International, Austin, Texas
• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshal, Glen Burnie, Maryland
• Bob Hope, Burbank, California
• Boeing Field/King County International, Seattle, Washington
• Charlotte/Douglas International, Charlotte, North Carolina
• Chicago Midway International, Chicago, Illinois
• Chicago O’Hare International, Chicago, Illinois
• Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, Covington, Kentucky
• Cleveland-Hopkins International, Cleveland, Ohio
• Dallas Love Field, Dallas, Texas
• Dallas/Fort Worth International, Fort Worth, Texas
• Denver International, Denver, Colorado
• Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• George Bush Intercontinental/Houston, Houston, Texas
• Greater Rochester International, Rochester, New York
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Atlanta, Georgia
• Honolulu International, Honolulu, Hawaii
• Jacksonville International, Jacksonville, Florida
• John F. Kennedy International, New York, New York
• John Wayne Airport-Orange County, Santa Ana, California
• Kansas City International, Kansas City, Missouri
• La Guardia, New York, New York
• Lambert-St. Louis International, St. Louis, Missouri
• Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Bedford, Massachusetts
• Long Beach/Daugherty Field, Long Beach, California
• Los Angeles International, Los Angeles, California
• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, Metairie, Louisiana
• McCarran International, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Memphis International, Memphis, Tennessee
• Metropolitan Oakland International, Oakland, California
• Miami International, Miami, Florida
• Minneapolis-St. Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Nashville International, Nashville, Tennessee
• New Castle, Wilmington, North Carolina
• Newark Liberty International, Newark, New Jersey
• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International, San Jose, California
• North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Orlando International, Orlando, Florida
• Orlando Sanford International, Sanford, Florida
• Palm Beach International, West Palm Beach, Florida
• Philadelphia International, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Phoenix, Arizona
• Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, Mesa, Arizona
• Pittsburgh International, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Port Columbus International, Columbus, Ohio
• Portland International, Portland, Oregon
• Rickenbacker International, Columbus, Ohio
• Ronald Reagan Washington National, Arlington, Virginia
• Sacramento International, Sacramento, California
• Salt Lake City International, Salt Lake City, Utah
• San Antonio International, San Antonio, Texas
• San Diego International, San Diego, California
• San Francisco International, San Francisco, California
• Seattle-Tacoma International, Seattle, Washington
• St. Augustine, Saint Augustine, Florida
• St. Petersburg-Clearwater International, Clearwater, Florida
• Tampa International, Tampa, Florida
• Teterboro, Teterboro, New Jersey
• Trenton Mercer, Trenton, New Jersey
• Washington Dulles International, Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C.
• Will Rogers World, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• William P. Hobby, Houston, Texas

  
  

Verizon Wireless has just shot out a press release indicating that Verizon’s CEO will unveil the company’s LTE launch plans tomorrow at the CTIA conference in San Francisco.

Verizon Wireless will hold a news conference during CTIA Enterprise & Applications 2010. Lowell McAdam, president and chief operating officer of Verizon, will detail the company’s major 4G LTE network launch.

We’ll be sure to report back any major developments. Bring on the four-gee!

Read

Is this a screen shot of speeds achieved on Verizon’s 4G, LTE network? If you’re to believe a poster in the dslreport.com forums, then yes. The speeds, almost 13 Mbps down and 4.4 Mbps up, are reportedly from someone testing Verizon’s LTE network in Edinboro, PA. The list of initial Verizon LTE cities is still unknown — except for San Francisco and Philadelphia — but we do know general areas that should be getting LTE soon; thanks to a previously leaked map. Edinboro, which is fairly close to Erie, appears to be marked as an LTE city on the leaked document. Also, the part of the IP address that is visibile is: 198.226; 198.226.0.1 appears to be owned by Verizon Wireless. It’s all speculative at this point, but isn’t it speculation that makes the anticipation even greater?

Thanks, Ryan!

Read

Today, MetroPCS announced Dallas/Fort Worth as their second LTE, 4G market to go live. You may recall that the company announced the availability of LTE in Las Vegas, NV just several weeks ago. Currently, the pre-paid mobile carrier offers the Samsung Craft as their only 4G handset; the device retails for $299 with monthly plans costing $55. The company reiterated that their “4G LTE network rollouts in the remaining MetroPCS markets are planned for later this year and early 2011.”

Read

Today, via a press release, MetroPCS announced that it has launched its first 4G LTE market — Las Vegas — and its first LTE capable phone, the Samsung Craft. As the press release reads:

Today, MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE: PCS) became the first mobile operator to launch commercial 4G LTE services in the United States, offering talk, text and 4G Web access starting as low as $55 per month including taxes and regulatory fees. MetroPCS is also offering the world’s first commercially available 4G LTE enabled handset, the Samsung Craft™. Service will initially be available in Las Vegas, Nev., with service expanding into the remaining MetroPCS cities throughout the year.

The Craft is no slouch, and features: 1x/EV-DO CDMA and LTE radios, 3.3-inch AMOLED display, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, micro-SD card (expandable to 32 GB), and 3.2 megapixel camera; the handset will retail for $299 after a $50 mail-in-rebate. MetroPCS is the fifth largest mobile provider in the U.S. and becomes the first provider to launch a commercially available LTE network.

MetroPCS closed by writing: “MetroPCS’ Las Vegas 4G LTE network, which was built through a partnership with Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), will cover the majority of MetroPCS’ existing CDMA network footprint in Las Vegas. 4G LTE network rollouts in the remaining MetroPCS markets are planned for later this year and early 2011. MetroPCS plans to further expand 4G LTE coverage in 2011, along with the launch of additional devices to increase MetroPCS’ portfolio of feature phones, touch screens, smartphones and 4G handsets.”

Congrats to MetroPCS! Hit the read link for the full release.

Read

Droid-Life is reporting that retailer Best Buy is expecting to receive Verizon LTE device sometime this fall. The information comes courtesy of a document (seen above) that reads: “New activations for Verizon LTE devices: BEAST will support the new Verizon LTE (4G) devices coming into the market this fall.” This sounds great to us, and we have our fingers crossed that a certain device will be on Verizon’s 4G short-list.

Read

Today, AT&T’s operations CEO, John Stankey, said that his company would be launching its LTE network by mid-2011 and would cover 70-75 million potential customers. The CEO made this known at the “Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2010 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference” where he was a speaker. Mr. Stankey also noted that AT&T has spent just over $700 million in LTE capital expenditures this year; a figure the company plans to go “far beyond” in 2011. Currently, AT&T is conducting LTE field trials in Baltimore and Dallas.

Read

We leaked this mysterious HTC device a couple weeks back, and now we have to ask… Since it so closely resembles the recently announced HTC Desire HD, do you think this will make its way to Verizon Wireless as the rumored world-capable handset, or something else entirely? Maybe LTE support? Let us know what you think!

Click on over to our HTC Desire-like device gallery!!

eWeek is reporting that Verizon Wireless told executive IT managers that they plan to launch LTE in 30 “NFL cities” by the end of 2010. The quote came from Verizon senior federal sales executive Bernie McMonagle. The executive did not detail which specific cities would be getting Verizon’s 4G service, but he did reiterate that they would be major metropolitan areas and that his company would have the entire country covered in LTE by 2013. Unfortunately, McMonagle also said that LTE smartphones, due to there scarcity, would not be launched in conjunction with the thirty city rollout.

Read

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a Samsung has executive publicly stated that U.S. pre-paid wireless provider MetroPCS will launch its new 4G LTE-based network next month. Jaebeom Choi, vice president of systems research and development for Samsung, quipped that MetroPCS will light-up their LTE network in Las Vegas and Dallas sometime in September. The company’s first LTE device will be the Samsung Craft, which we reported on earlier this month. If the VP’s statements are accurate, the company — which is currently the fifth largest wireless provider in the U.S. — will be the first Stateside wireless carrier to offer LTE services publicly. When contacted, MetroPCS declined to comment on the report. Now all the company needs is a better marketing campaign to promote their new service.

Yesterday, pre-paid wireless provider MetroPCS dropped a few more details about their first LTE phone and launch plans. MetroPCS CEO Roger Linquist noted that the company’s first LTE device would be the Samsung Craft and that its price would be comparable to that of smartphones currently in its lineup. Currently, the most expensive device in Metro’s lineup is the BlackBerry Curve 8530, which retails for $279. Mr. Linquist also noted that netbooks and other non-smartphone devices were likely to appear on his company’s LTE network at some point in the future. MetroPCS will begin its LTE rollout in Las Vegas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Also of note, the CEO said his company would bolster their handset lineup to, “include a number of Android devices by the end of the year.”

Read

Clearwire has long said that they have the technology, spectrum, and expertise to move from WiMax to LTE if necessary, and a press released today seems to reiterate that. Clearwire announced that it would: “conduct 4G LTE technology trials [...] in the U.S., and [...] test multiple coexistence scenarios between LTE and WiMAX radio technologies.” The release goes on to state that Clearwire, “expects the technical trials to demonstrate that Clearwire’s 4G network can deliver significantly higher performance using LTE technologies than any other operator,” and that they plan to “conduct the tests in collaboration with Huawei Technologies.” Huawei is the company that provided the infrastructure to the world’s first commercial LTE network in Europe. Who’s ready for a Verizon Wireless v. Clearwire LTE speed war! Hit the read link for the full release.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Read