Cricket brings 4G LTE to Las Vegas, outs new Huawei Boltz modem in celebration
Cricket's parent company, Leap Wireless, announced earlier last week its intentions to start blanketing more customers with LTE service, though it didn't say which markets would be the ones to get the same experience as folks in Tucson, Arizona. Today, however, Cricket's claiming that subscribers in the Las Vegas area can finally get a taste of savory Long Term Evolution, making this the second market where the newfangled network's now present. To go along with this, Cricket has said a revamped, LTE-ready version of that $150 Huawei Boltz modem will be available online and at retail stores around Sin City (and Tucson) for customers eager to try out the new service. No word on when the carrier plans to bring its "true 4G" network elsewhere, but, according to Leap CEO Doug Hutcheson, the idea is to have "approximately 21 million covered POPs by the end of the year."
[Image credit: Cricket Wireless Premier Dealer]
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Leap Continues Transition to 4G LTE
With 2nd Commercial Market Launch in its Cricket Las Vegas Market
SAN DIEGO – October 17, 2012 – Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP), today announced the launch of 4G LTE service in its Cricket Las Vegas market. This introduction marks the second Cricket market launch in the Company's planned, multi-year introduction of 4G LTE technology for smartphones to its customers. The Company initially launched its LTE service in its Tucson, Ariz. market in December, 2011.
"The introduction of Cricket 4G LTE in Las Vegas is another milestone in our transition to LTE as we continue to offer our customers high-quality products and services with the latest technology and the value they've come to expect," said Doug Hutcheson, president and CEO of Leap. "We expect to launch LTE service in additional Cricket markets in 2012 and cover approximately 21 million covered POPs by the end of the year. In addition, we expect to introduce several high-quality LTE smartphones before the end of the year that will be attractive to our value conscious customers."
Leap expects to offer 4G LTE service for smartphones across at least two-thirds of its network footprint over the next two to three years. The Company's 4G LTE rollout is a product of thoughtful spectrum management. The Company has kept spectrum unused in order to give it flexibility in steering a clear path to 4G LTE.
LTE is the fastest, most advanced network technology in America delivering data at incredibly fast speeds. In pre-launch speed tests conducted in the Las Vegas market, Cricket's 4G LTE speeds ranged from 3 to 15 times faster than current Cricket 3G data speeds, depending on market conditions. More than 80 percent of Cricket's Las Vegas market footprint will be covered by the new 4G LTE network.
At launch, 4G LTE service will be accessible via mobile broadband services and Cricket's newly-improved 4G LTE modem, the Huawei Boltz, will be available for $149.99 (MSRP) at Cricket's company-owned stores and dealers in Las Vegas and Tucson. Customers can select from four 4G LTE monthly data service plans ranging from $35 to $80 month depending on the users desired full-speed requirements.
Cricket Introduces New Huawei Boltz 4G LTE Modem
~ Modem Serves Cricket 4G LTE Markets in Las Vegas and Tucson
LAS VEGAS and TUCSON, Ariz., Oct. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cricket Communications today announced the availability of the new Huawei Boltz 4G LTE modem to customers in the Company's 4G LTE markets in Las Vegas and Tucson.
The Huawei Boltz, Cricket's 4G LTE modem, features a lightweight, sleek design. Its integrated installation software allows quick and easy set-up and supports Windows and Mac operating systems with a bilingual user interface in English and Spanish. The modem has a hinge that pivots to any USB 2.0 configuration and has a microSD slot for up to 32GB of additional memory storage. A new upgrade to the device has added 4G Over-The-Air and 4G PCS Band support. The Boltz is compatible with Cricket 3G networks for use in all 4G Cricket markets. The Huawei Boltz, is available for $149.99 (MSRP) at Cricket's company-owned stores and dealers in Las Vegas and Tucson.
"The new Boltz modem provides Cricket customers in our 4G LTE markets a fast and reliable user experience," said Matt Stoiber , senior vice president, devices for Cricket. "In pre-launch speed tests conducted in our Las Vegas market, Cricket's 4G LTE speeds ranged from three to 15 times faster than current Cricket 3G data speeds, depending on market conditions."
Huawei Boltz Features
Frequency:
4G: LTE AWS Band Class 15 Bandwidth 1.4MHz, 3MHz, 5MHz
3G: CDMA 1x & EVDO BC1 & BC15 (1900 & AWS)
aGPS
OS Compatibility:
Windows XP SP2/SP3, Window Vista SP1/SP2 (32 & 64 Bit), Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit)
Mac OS 10.5 to 10.6 with latest updates (32 & 64 bit), 10.7 (32 & 64)
Micro USB (High Speed)
Processor:
MDM9600
Memory Slot:
microSD™ (supports up to 32GB)
Dimensions/Weight
(H) 4" x (W) 2.2" x (D) .60"
3.9oz
Customers can pair their new Huawei Boltz modem with one of four 4G LTE monthly data service plans ranging from $35 to $80 month depending on the users desired full-speed requirements.
About Cricket
Cricket is the pioneer and leader in delivering innovative value-rich prepaid wireless services with no long-term contracts serving approximately 6 million customers. Cricket offers wireless voice and mobile data services over the latest, high-quality, all-digital 4G (LTE) and 3G CDMA wireless networks. In 2011, Cricket launched its award-winning Muve Music® product, the first music service designed for a wireless phone that now has more than 600,000 customers. Cricket's innovative products and services are available at Cricket branded retail stores, dealers, national retailers and at www.mycricket.com. For more information about Cricket, please visit www.mycricket.com.
