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Sprint Owes Customers a 4G LTE Release Date

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Sprint has launched three 4G LTE smartphones in the HTC EVO 4G LTE, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and LG Viper 4G LTE. It has another on the way shortly in the Samsung Galaxy S III. However, the carrier has yet to announce any sort of 4G LTE release date for its high-speed network, leaving customers wondering when it’s going to launch.

The LG Viper 4G LTE and Samsung Galaxy Nexus have been out since late April. It’s now June. The HTC EVO 4G LTE was originally supposed to launch in mid-May but instead if launched on June 2nd. We’re now mid-way through the month. The Samsung Galaxy S III will be launching on June 21st and it will be doing so without a 4G LTE network, unlike the models on AT&T and Verizon.

Read: HTC EVO 4G LTE Vs. Samsung Galaxy S III (Sprint).

That means that some owners have been operating on Sprint’s so-so 3G network for well over a month and those that are about to buy a new 4G LTE device on Sprint could very well be in the same boat.

Sprint has said that its network will be arriving in six launch cities in mid-2o12 including:

  • Atlanta
  • Baltimore
  • Dallas
  • Houston
  • Kansas City
  • San Antonio

However, unlike AT&T, Verizon, and even T-Mobile who doesn’t even have a 4G LTE network in place, Sprint has remained very silent in regards to the launch.

That silence would be fine if we were in April but we’re not in June, and sitting right smack in the middle of 2012 and we still don’t have any concrete details.

Sprint customers who bought these devices in April and are planning on buying a device in the near future deserve answers, even if those answers are vague.

Current and future customers alike are wondering when Sprint will get its network up and at this point, Sprint should be soothing their worries. I know if I had bought a Sprint 4G LTE smartphone back in April I’d be checking every single day to see if there was some sort of progress update.

Read: Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE Review: A Worthy Successor to the Original (Video).

What’s curious is that Sprint is normally very vocal with its customers. It does a fantastic job of keeping them up to date on software upgrades, release dates and pricing.

Yet, for one reason or another, likely because it doesn’t yet know when it’s going to go live, it has remained silent about its planned 4G LTE roll out.

Hopefully that changes soon.

Any Sprint 4G LTE owners out there disappointed with the lack of communication from Sprint? I don’t even own a Sprint 4G LTE device and it frustrates me.

25 Comments

25 Comments

  1. jt

    06/15/2012 at 2:04 pm

    Sometimes I have no data available on my evo lte and have to restart it. Sprint needs to hurry up with the network!

  2. Ann G Morrone

    06/15/2012 at 2:24 pm

    • benjamin

      09/02/2012 at 8:46 am

      Spam Much?

  3. CableTVGuy

    06/15/2012 at 5:38 pm

    I have 2 LTE phones from Sprint. I upgraded both of them with the thought that LTE would be on in the next few weeks. That hasn’t happened and Sprint 3G in Dallas isn’t very fast at all.

    Come on Sprint! Give us something!

  4. Daniel

    06/15/2012 at 9:29 pm

    I have the Evo LTE and it is awesome…when you are wifi. I called Sprint today to ask for an update about LTE and they said it would be live tonight at 12:01am. Unless they meant central time, my 4g still is working.

    I’m in Atlanta

  5. Prime

    06/16/2012 at 12:34 am

    I just left high paying Verizon and now went with Sprints Evo Lte…and yes its slow at sometimes…But so far this phone has been the best I’ve owned. I think the Lte will be worth the wait!…especially since l live here in Kansas City MO. Have patience Lte owners.

  6. sdnative

    06/16/2012 at 4:41 am

    How is Sprint getting away with a mandatory $10 “premium data” charge on top of the data plan when no Wimax or LTE even exists on many cities such as here in San Diego?

    Why isn’t there more of an outcry about this?

    • mike

      06/18/2012 at 9:13 am

      I was planning on upgrading to an S3 on Sprint…but now I may not. They charge for “premium data” even on 4G LTE phones where the service isn’t even available yet? WHAT?!?!?!

      • Adam

        06/20/2012 at 10:45 pm

        Sprint charges $10 premium data on any 3G or above capable smartphone. So if it runs on EVDO, they charge you $10/month now.

        • benjamin

          09/02/2012 at 8:48 am

          That is not true. I switched back to my Treo 700wx while waiting for a replacement Evo after dropping it. I dont have to pay the $10 with the Treo, and its a 3G EVDO phone. its just newer smart phones.

  7. Teresa Naylor

    06/16/2012 at 5:28 am

    How do I go about getting the free 50GB box/cloud mentioned in several videos on youtube for the LG viper 4g lte? Even the salespeople at Best Buy don’t know what I’m talking about an I’m new to smart phones so I’d like some help please!

  8. john merriman

    06/17/2012 at 2:12 pm

    Honestly, I am surprised that some enterprising customer has not filed a class action lawsuit. Sprint has been pushing these phones for a few months saying that 4G LTE will be launched in a half-dozen cities by mid 2012. Well, mid 2012 is here and there is still no word. Sprint is marketing 4G LTE phones and cannot deliver on that service.

    • sdnative

      06/17/2012 at 4:46 pm

      In addition, you pay a “premium data” charge even though the existing 4g (WiMax) never existed in many cities. And Sprint couldn’t even give a time table for its arrival. LTE is another issue on top of that.

      • Informed

        06/18/2012 at 7:52 am

        Premium data charge is for smartphones using more data on sprint’s network not an upcharge for “4G” devices.

        • mike

          06/18/2012 at 9:20 am

          Good luck using much data on their 3G network. It is slower than sin. The charge is a farce.

          • ondvirg1

            06/19/2012 at 8:28 am

            I moved from Los Angeles/Orange County to Tennessee. And my data is fast even out here in the middle of no where. We have just spoiled by fast internet at home with cable. I have everything I can pushed to my iPhone 4s, the $10 dollar charge is nothing compared to other networks. You can not get the features provided by Sprints everything package, and definitely for the price. I have unlimited everything calling, data, text, roaming calling and roaming data. So quit whine about $10 dollars or go pay over $150/ month to get almost the same features with Verizon.

    • joe

      07/20/2012 at 1:22 am

      Sprint towers and dises are bad thats why they dont talk about when the 4g will go . i live in south texas and 3g hardly works here and it will be mid 2013 before 4g works here and all 4 of my phones are 4g. So don’t feel bad if it not working in your town /city .

  9. Kaye

    06/30/2012 at 7:55 am

    “I know if I had bought a Sprint 4G LTE smartphone back in April I’d be checking every single day to see if there was some sort of progress update.”

    That is exactly what is happening for me here in San Diego! Very frustrating.

  10. Warren

    08/03/2012 at 7:10 am

    I have been paying Sprint’s (first 4g, now LTE) $10 a month surcharge for years and have never had either in my market just north of San Francisco. They know customers like me with 4, sometimes 5 phones are not going to leave as it is so expensive to not only change but to buy new phones as well.

    Yes, they should at least let us know some date range for every part of the country. If San Francisco is still years away maybe I would change to someone else…guess that is why they don’t want to say.

  11. william

    08/18/2012 at 7:50 pm

    I have been paying this $10 fee for years too and have never had 4g of any type in Greenville sc . Sprint is about to lose a customer of 11 year real soon due to not having 4g and the bad service I experience in many places especially at home. I had ok service in the past but now I cant get any data service and lacking voice service a lot of times. Not sure whats going on but I have called sprint a bunch of times and all I get is there’s nothing wrong in your area . They do offer me a air rave thing but I don’t have high speed internet . I have been using verizon 4g internet card now for a little over a year and it works great! What makes me so mad is I called sprint and they said I would have 4g LTE by august 18th but that’s a lie! Verizon has had 4g for over a year in Greenville sc come on sprint get your act together!

  12. sally jenkins

    08/23/2012 at 6:47 am

    Great to hear some lte folks getting upset but please keep in mind that many of us have had 4g phones for YEARS and sprint has failed miserably in providing 4g network service. Not surprising in the least that they would be slow with lte. It is mind boggling how they can get away with this.

  13. Ronny

    08/25/2012 at 12:52 am

    It’s OK. I’ve now jumped ship to TMobile HSPA+ with a monthly plan and a $350 GSM Galaxy Nexus from the Google Play store. I now have 4g speeds in San Diego which Sprint didn’t even have. Speed tests at lunch time are averaging 4mbps-8mbps in the downtown area. I was getting 300kbps-1mbps with Sprint! Yes, LTE is supposed to be even faster but it also used more battery and LTE is overkill to me. HSPA+ is fast enough.

  14. Adam Lewis Moore

    10/09/2012 at 8:22 pm

    I bought my EVO 4G LTE smartphone in July. I’ve had to get it replaced once already because of the touch-screen going bad within 2 weeks. About a month later I had to bring it back into the shop to have a hard reset done to it because it started cycling off and on. It drained my battery completely dead in a matter of a little over an hour. I didn’t have time to run home and grab my charger seeing as how I was on a half-hour lunch break when I brought it in to be serviced. I asked them if they had a spare charger or usb cable I could have since I didn’t have my charger with me. And it went dead during work hours. He told me no. But he could sell me a new one. What a joke!! I was pissed!! Now on to the real problem. I asked him how to turn on the 4G. He said the phone does it automatically. He never mentioned to me anything about the LTE 4g network not even being up and running yet. If I would have known this before I bought the damn thing, I would have just stuck with my Epic and saved $275.00 after the cost of the phone, case, and screen protector. So my question is this. Why market a product that relies on certain services if they are not even available yet?? I think Sprint owes everybody who bought one of these devices a fair explanation and compensation for the services that are NOT being rendered!!!

  15. Tim (@TZA72)

    11/26/2012 at 8:43 am

    2012 almost over and LTE not up in FL

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