Sprint announced Tuesday that three additional markets would see network upgrades in preparation for 5G technologies.
In February, the company announced plans to deploy Massive MIMO technology in six cities this year as a “critical bridge” to the launch of its mobile 5G network in the first half of 2019: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
The carrier this week added New York, Phoenix and its native Kansas City to the list of cities “to be the first to experience Sprint’s fifth-generation network.”
Sprint officials said the company began installing its first Massive MIMO radios in Dallas, L.A. and New York last month. The radios can deliver 4G LTE coverage and can be upgraded to 5G without building new cell sites or requiring personnel to climb the towers.
“We have an innovative approach to 5G that leverages our 2.5 GHz spectrum assets with Massive MIMO technology and we’re excited by the results of early deployment,” CTO John Saw said in a statement. “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.”
The carrier said additional cities would be added as Sprint rolls out its 5G service.
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