Sprint may want to rename its “Now Network” to the “Later Is Better Than Never Network” after the carrier’s finance chief pushed back 4G LTE to late 2012. Although the new delay puts the third-place wireless carrier further behind Verizon and AT&T, the new rollout date for the faster network should coincide with Apple’s iPhone 5, expected to use LTE.
The announcement came in a webcast by Sprint’s chief financial officer, Joe Eutenauer. “We believe LTE is the key to our future,” Euteneuer told the UBS webcast interviewer. Earlier this fall, Sprint introduced a new base station that supports both LTE and 3G.
The delay puts Sprint even further behind its rivals’ support of LTE. By the latter part of 2012, Verizon Wireless will have more than two dozen markets where LTE is available. AT&T’s 4G network is available in 15 markets now. Although some fans were disappointed the iPhone 4S unveiled in October did not support LTE, speculation is mounting that the next iPhone, perhaps released in Spring 2012 (but more likely to release in October 2012, will support the faster network. If so, Sprint’s faster network would be right on time — that’s if there are no more delays, like todays.
