Sprint Launching First LTE Phones, Though Without Said High-Speed Service
Sprint plans to start selling its first LTE-capable phones, though it has yet to officially launch LTE service. The No. 3 U.S. carrier will start on Sunday selling both the Galaxy Nexus and the mid-range LG Viper 4G.
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the second half of a two-step Sprint began in January, when it announced its first LTE cities and, prematurely, its first LTE phone. The commitment dates back further still: in October 2011 Sprint said it would light up 120 LTE cities by the end of 2012, building on a 4G push it first laid out in early 2010. What changed this week is that the hardware is now actually on shelves — the Galaxy Nexus and mid-range LG Viper go on sale Sunday, weeks before any customer can use them at LTE speeds.
The timing reads against a competitive backdrop where Sprint is the last of the big carriers to field LTE gear: AT&T unveiled its first two 4G LTE products back in July 2011, and an April 17 independent speed test of all four national carriers gave Sprint something to answer. Internally, the move lands amid board scrutiny of CEO Dan Hesse's iPhone-heavy strategy and an unconfirmed CFO remark that Sprint could carry a future LTE iPhone.
First-order effects
- Early buyers of the Galaxy Nexus and LG Viper 4G are purchasing LTE-capable radios they cannot use, since Sprint has yet to switch the service on — the devices run on existing 3D-era network capacity until launch.
- Sprint gains shelf presence and a device lineup ready for day one of its LTE rollout, converting its January announcement into actual retail inventory.
Second-order effects
- AT&T and Verizon, which already sell LTE phones on live networks, face a competitor whose pitch will rest on future coverage rather than present speed — putting pressure on how each markets real-world performance.
- Device makers Samsung and LG get another US channel for LTE handsets, spreading their LTE inventory risk across a fourth major carrier instead of three.
Third-order effects
- If selling handsets ahead of network readiness becomes routine, carrier differentiation shifts from today's speed tests toward promised upgrade cadences — making network-buildout credibility, not just current throughput, a competitive asset.
- An LTE-capable iPhone remains unconfirmed despite the CFO's March comment, but if Apple ships one, Sprint's board-level debate over the iPhone bet would sharpen around whether LTE compatibility changes the deal's economics.
The trend: US carriers are racing to stock LTE handsets faster than they can light up LTE networks, turning network-upgrade promises into the new front of the four-carrier battle.