Sprint 4G LTE launches with 3G speeds

Yesterday, Sprint formally switched on 4G LTE in 12 cities. With the launch of LTE in these 12 cities, Sprint LTE devices will finally be worth the money used to purchase them… Or will they?

Unlike a normal launch, Sprint chose to make a video to announce the launch of 4G LTE. In the video (embedded below), Sprint’s “Wireless Network News” announces that 4G LTE is available in five of the six original launch markets (with Baltimore, MD notably missing from the list) and quite a few cities in Texas. However, the fine print of the video states that Sprint is only promising 6-8Mbps on downlink and 2-3Mbps for uplink. This is equivalent to HSPA networks from almost three years ago.

So why is Sprint essentially offering 3G speeds on its 4G LTE network? Well, part of the problem is spectrum. Nationwide, Sprint is using 2x5MHz (5MHz on downlink and 5MHz on uplink, also noted as 10MHz total) for LTE. This does induce a throughput cap, as well as a capacity cap. However, it can be partially defeated by building a more dense infrastructure. Distributing the load of a market more evenly through a denser cell site layout would help a lot.

However, Sprint is also likely using relatively poor backhaul compared to AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. As we’ve discussed previously, deploying LTE without improving the backhaul will result in speeds that most people commonly associate with 3G. Indeed, it compares only slightly favorably to AT&T’s HSPA service. However, performance will get worse as more Sprint LTE users use the network if the backhaul situation doesn’t improve quickly.

Unless it does something soon to improve the quality of service of its LTE network, its path to domination will halt right here with Sprint’s failure to properly upgrade its network. The allure of unlimited data can only go so far with such a weak network.