T-Mobile Taps MetroPCS’ Spectrum to Boost LTE Network Speeds

T-Mobile has started rolling out higher-speed LTE service by tapping the airwaves it acquired as part of its MetroPCS acquisition.

T-Mobile quietly turned on the faster service in parts of North Dallas. The higher speeds come by combining T-Mobile’s LTE spectrum with that originally held by MetroPCS. Combining the spectrum allows so-called 20-by-20 service, or double the amount of spectrum T-Mobile had been able to offer in most markets. T-Mobile plans to eventually offer the expanded LTE service in 90 percent of the top 25 U.S. markets, but timing depends on how quickly it can move around some of its existing network traffic. T-Mobile had touted the increased bandwidth as one of the benefits of the MetroPCS deal, though it hadn’t committed to offering 20-by-20 service until next year. The company expects to have 10-by-10 LTE service in 40 of the top 50 markets by the end of the year. With each of the major carriers now offering LTE networks in most big cities, a race is on not just to add cities but also to improve the speeds and capacity of the LTE networks in existing markets.