Sprint activated its 5G network in central Chicago, providing coverage for approximately 700,000 people. The 5G service is available from the historic IL-64 in the north to Stevenson Expressway in the south, and as far as California Avenue in the west to the periphery of Lake Michigan in the east.
In Chicago, Sprint is using 64T64R (64 transmitters 64 receivers) 5G Massive MIMO radios from Samsung Networks. These radios support a feature called split-mode that enables Sprint to simultaneously deliver LTE Advanced and 5G New Radio (NR) service. Sprint’s 5G Massive MIMO radios run on its 2.5 GHz mid-band spectrum, and they are deployed on Sprint’s existing 4G cell sites, providing a nearly identical footprint for both 2.5 GHz LTE and 5G NR coverage.
Chicago is one of nine markets where Sprint is launching its “True Mobile 5G.: In addition to the Windy City, Sprint 5G is currently available in areas of Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Kansas City and the company is expected to launch service in areas of Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. in the coming weeks.
“We’re proud to give customers across the heart of Chicago their first truly mobile 5G experience,” said Sprint CEO Michel Combes. “We’re also excited about the tremendous opportunity for growth and innovation that Sprint 5G will bring across a wide range of industries including energy, healthcare, manufacturing, finance, insurance, transportation, hospitality and more.”
Sprint’s 5G unlimited plan is priced at $80/month
Sprint activated its first 5G commercial service in areas of Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and Kansas City.
Sprint is using 64T64R (64 transmitters 64 receivers) 5G Massive MIMO radios from Ericsson in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and Kansas City. These radios support split-mode, enabling Sprint to simultaneously deliver LTE Advanced and 5G NR service. Sprint’s 5G Massive MIMO radios run on its 2.5 GHz mid-band spectrum, and they are deployed on Sprint’s existing 4G cell sites, providing a nearly identical footprint for both 2.5 GHz LTE and 5G NR coverage.
Service is available using the LG V50 ThinQ 5G smartphone and the HTC 5G Hub.
A 5G Unlimited Premium plan — with unlimited data, talk and text nationwide, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Twitch Prime, Tidal HiFi and 100 GB LTE mobile hotspot — is priced at $80 per month with AutoPay for one line.
Sprint expects to launch 5G service in areas of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, D.C.
Earlier this month, Sprint provided the following network update
- Sprint now has 2.5 GHz spectrum deployed on approximately 80 percent of its macro sites.
- Sprint currently has approximately 30,000 outdoor small cells deployed including both mini macros and strand mounts.
- Sprint has deployed approximately 1,500 Massive MIMO radios, which increase the speed and capacity of the LTE network and, with a software upgrade, will provide mobile 5G service in select cities in the coming weeks.
Sprint activates Samsung’s massive MIMO
Sprint has activated Samsung’s 5G-ready massive MIMO solutions on its production 2.5 GHz TDD-LTE network.
Samsung said its massive MIMO can provide a way for operators to inject new capacity into their network without having to purchase more spectrum or add new base stations. It is being used by Sprint to significantly boost LTE network speeds and capacity for millions of U.S. customers, while improving network efficiencies through advanced beam-forming. Additionally, this helps provide Sprint with a seamless upgrade path to 5G New Radio (NR), utilizing the carrier’s deep 2.5 GHz spectrum.
“We are excited to see Samsung MIMO solutions in use on Sprint’s current LTE commercial network, which will help their customers experience the full benefits of network innovation,” said Lyle Nyffeler, Vice President, Networks Division, Samsung Electronics America. “Our MIMO solutions are engineered to maximize 4G networks today, while offering a graceful, seamless path to a 5G future.”
In February 2018, Sprint announced its selection of Samsung as a massive MIMO provider for their future 5G mobile network launch in the U.S..
