Sprint, the nation’s third-largest wireless carrier, announced Monday it has expanded its 4G LTE service to Gainesville and 21 other cities.
This means customers will experience data speeds faster than the 3G connection, a stronger wireless signal and more reliable coverage, said John Kelley, a sales representative at a Gainesville Sprint store, 4127 NW 16th Blvd.
About 50 percent of the towers have been built and activated in Gainesville, he said.
“From this coverage, Sprint users can expect faster streaming speeds allowing music and HD videos to download like a snap of the fingers,” said Lukas Costas, a Best Buy sales representative in the mobile phone department.
However, he said Sprint is at a disadvantage because AT&T and Verizon — which launched LTE networks months ago — have had time to test the networks in the Gainesville area and troubleshoot dead zones.
Kathy Rae Hileman, a 21-year-old telecommunication senior, said service is better.
“Since Monday, my LTE has been patchy in certain areas, but it’s like lightning speed compared to the old 3G coverage,” she said.
