MetroPCS' second 4G LTE network launches in Texas

Just over one week ago, the first commercial LTE network in the United States launched in Las Vegas under regional carrier MetroPCS. Today, the carrier's second LTE deployment has launched in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area.

Like its Las Vegas LTE network, MetroPCS has monthly plans for $55 and $60, and its only LTE-compatible handset is the $299 Samsung Craft.

The 4G LTE footprint in Dallas/Ft. Worth doesn't yet cover the entire metro area, but the company today said it will grow to cover the majority of its existing CDMA network footprint in the area. Furthermore, LTE rollouts in the remaining MetroPCS markets are planned for later this year and early 2011, and the company expects to include more devices and services on the network as they arrive.

This network is a milestone for telecommunications hardware provider Ericsson, as it is the first U.S. LTE network the Swedish company has helped build. Ericsson played a major part in the first LTE network in the world when Teliasonera launched its 4G services in Stockholm last year, and it has provided much of the infrastructure for this deployment, including Base Stations, IP-RAN, packet core, and network design and engineering.

"Ericsson is proud to work with such a forward thinking company as MetroPCS as we bring our global leadership of LTE into North America," said Angel Ruiz, president of Ericsson North America. "With LTE, MetroPCS will be able to meet the rapidly growing demands of its customers for new and enhanced applications as we continue to evolve and expand the possibilities of mobile broadband."