MetroPCS wants LTE services next year

MetroPCS is getting a bit aggressive. When speaking with GigaOm’s Stacey Higginbotham, Metro CEO Tom Keys said of his company’s plans: “It is our desire to deploy LTE in 2010, probably the latter half.” Considering Verizon, currently the frontrunner to deploy the US’s first LTE network, will only have theirs up and running for a little bit at that point, this could be a major coup for MetroPCS. Their efforts to keep up with the big players could pay off big time as the nation’s big networks migrate to 4G networks. Keys also pretty much confirmed the rumor that MetroPCS will get the BlackBerry Curve 8330 That was reported by PhoneNews last month, with the rumor that it would be released by the end of February. That hasn’t happened, but it’s still in the offing. Keys said that his company will carry a phone from a “Canadian smartphone maker,” and all eyes turn to RIM. Combine that statement with the rumor, and it’s all but confirmed. It looks like Metro will get the phone later in the second quarter or early in the third. That will give them an advantage in the flat-rate, unlimited calling and data market. After the Curve, the company could consider broadband modem service like their rival, Leap Wireless. LTE deployment could eventually move them up to the fifth largest carrier in the country.]]>