US pushes on with broader LTE deployment

While still in their nascent stages in densely populated areas across Europe, LTE services are now being deployed in remote areas in the US, such as rural Texas and Alaska.

Regional carrier Cellular One has entered into an agreement with Verizon Wireless to participate in its LTE in Rural America program. Under the agreement, Verizon Wireless will lease its 700 MHz upper C block wireless spectrum to Cellular One in parts of Texas.

Using the spectrum, Cellular One will construct and operate an LTE network serving Cellular One customers, Verizon Wireless customers, and customers of other LTE in Rural America participants. Cellular One customers will also have access to Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network throughout the United States.

Meanwhile, Alaska Communications announced that it has also introduced LTE services to customers throughout Alaska’s urban areas. The regional operator spent $32m on the network upgrade. The service will cover Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Homer, Kenai, Palmer, Seward, Soldotna, Wasilla and Whittier.