MarkyD311

On the topic of the OP, which is bandwidth to each site, I can echo what has been said. Most of the backhaul being installed is in a medium that is easily opened up for more bandwidth with the "flip of a switch," so to speak. I can only speak to the way VZW is doing it, but all their sites have fiber (or other similar) backhaul which can be increased when needed. Most of the VZW sites around here (OKC) are no less than 30mbps (in rural areas) and quite a bit more in the city. It really just depends on the needs on a site by site basis.

Here in OKC, VZW used Cox almost exclusively for backhaul in their LTE deployment. I'd be surprised to see Sprint go with the local telco (AT&T) for their backhaul when Cox has a really robust fiber network here, and has business class rates that are far lower than the incumbent baby bell. For what it's worth, Cox's site backhaul product around here is mostly Metro-E.

I haven't seen any work being done at sites in the OKC Metro. I know where most of the Sprint sites are and I've been watching, but nothing so far. The only activity I'm seeing is T-Mobile has finally moved into the area to start their refarm.

Pretty interesting that Sprint seems to have given up on Oklahoma. They just ended their roaming agreement with Pioneer, basically cutting all their Rural OK coverage. The other carriers have included OKC as one of their first "4G" markets:

-Verizon launched 4G LTE in OKC as one of the very first markets launched in late 2010.

-T-Mobile launched "4G" HSPA+ 42mbps a few months after Verizon launched LTE

-AT&T launched LTE in OKC in the second wave of cities.

Sprint never had WiMax here, and doesn't appear to have plans to make OKC a priority on their NV LTE launch. Disappointing, but not surprising. Their 3G network here has deteriorated significantly over the last few years. I remember my Sanyo phone on Sprint with the polyphonic ringtones. Man, that phone was cutting edge! I hope to see Sprint turn things around here in OK, but it looks like they've striked this market from their "give a damn" list.