Galaxy Note 2 Update Heralds T-Mobile 4G LTE Launch This Month

T-Mobile’s 4G LTE should rollout sometime this month, and a new update to the Galaxy Note 2 will let users access the network when it launches.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is the first T-Mobile smartphone to support the 4G LTE network. The carrier recently issued an update to the phone which activates its previously unused 4G LTE radio. When the network goes live, Note 2 users will get to use it before anybody else.

Speaking to The Verge T-Mobile said it will turn on it 4G LTE network sometime before the end of March. The carrier wouldn’t comment on which cities will receive the network first, though it did note that rollouts are complete in both Las Vegas and Kansa City. T-Mobile started its 4G LTE build-out in those cities earlier this year.

There’s a chance T-Mobile will cover more cities when the network launches, however. The carrier promised it will cover 200 million users with 4G LTE by the end of 2013. The easiest way to achieve that number is to rollout the network in big cities such as New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.

The carrier’s impending merger with MetroPCS will also help it expand it’s 4G LTE network. MetroPCS already has 4G LTE, though the two networks won’t use the same frequency at first.

When T-Mobile releases the BlackBerry Z10 this month, it will come to stores as the second 4G LTE smartphone on the network. The carrier still has no release date for the new BlackBerry 10 device, though it should come by the end of this month.

Presumably the Samsung Galaxy S4 will also support 4G LTE when it comes to T-Mobile in April. An updated Galaxy S3 will also likely come to the carrier with support for 4G LTE.

Sometime this year, T-Mobile will also carry the iPhone, likely starting with the rumored iPhone 5S. That phone should also support the carrier’s 4G LTE network. The AT&T iPhone 5 already supports T-Mobile’s 4G LTE frequency, so users with unlocked phones on the network can access the network as soon ast T-Mobile turns it on.