MetroPCS Launches LTE in Las Vegas

MetroPCS launched the first LTE commercial service in the United States. The company has activated its first LTE network in central Las Vegas and had begun offering the Samsung Craft 4G LTE enabled handset as its first LTE device.


MetroPCS is offering unlimited talk, text and 4G Web access starting at $55 per month, including taxes and regulatory fees, with no annual contract required. An upgraded $60 per month plan adds "MetroSTUDIO", a music and video service powered by RealNetworks that provides on-demand content from NBC Universal, Black Entertainment Television (BET) and Univision. The $60 plan also features a built-in social networking and instant messaging aggregation application and a voice-activated GPS and turn-by-turn directions.


Tethering is not supported or allowed.


The Samsung Craft, which is priced at $299 plus tax, after $50 instant rebate, is a multi-mode 4G LTE/CDMA handset. It features a 3.3 inch AMOLED (Active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) screen, a 2GB microSD card, a combination touch screen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and Samsung's "TouchWiz" user interface. It also provides A 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and camcorder, and Wi-Fi capability.


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.


The company said 4G LTE network rollouts in the remaining MetroPCS markets are planned for later this year and early 2011. These markets include Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Sacramento, North Florida, Central Florida, South Florida, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Atlanta and New York City.


"The Internet is going mobile, and we are placing the true power of the Internet directly in our customers' hands, when and where they need it. By offering affordable, predictable and flexible 4G services on a no-contract basis, MetroPCS delivers immediate benefits to our customers and is positioned to meet their evolving needs well into the future," said Roger D. Linquist, president, CEO and chairman of MetroPCS.
http://www.metropcs.com