MetroPCS Builds Ethernet Backhaul for LTE
FiberTower Corporation and MetroPCS Communications have entered into an agreement for FiberTower to provide Ethernet-based backhaul services in select MetroPCS markets. The evolution to Ethernet for network backhaul helps prepare MetroPCS for its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network launch that is planned during the second half of 2010.
Using FiberTower’s backhaul solution, which includes fiber-based Ethernet services to cell sites and microwave extensions for maximum coverage, MetroPCS will have the ability to efficiently scale capacity from 5 Mbps to as much as 1 Gbps per site as its backhaul needs evolve over time. FiberTower has been providing MetroPCS with backhaul solutions in several MetroPCS markets since late 2005.
"Our plan to provide customers with an enhanced mobile experience through the services available on a 4G network requires a robust backhaul solution that is capable of operating efficiently with increased network traffic inherent on an LTE network," said Roger Linquist, president and CEO of MetroPCS, in a statement.
"FiberTower is able to provide us with a necessary piece of that solution as we move toward the launch of the United States’ first LTE wireless network featuring smartphones in the second half of this year."
