"We have launched 4G LTE service in five metropolitan area so far this year, with more to be launch through the end of the year into next year. These were the first commercial launches of 4G LTE service in the United States. In addition, we were the first in the world to offer a dual mode, 4G CDMA LTE handset. We received this technological transformation as a game changer. We have previously mentioned that we decided to bypass 3G EVDO in favor of 4G LTE because LTE is far more efficient, both in terms of data rate and cost. We started working on the 4G LTE strategy three years ago, with an eye towards being one of the first carriers in the United States to launch for 4G LTE service with an LTE handset. We did this to provide leadership and drive the development of the ecosystem to address our unique business requirements with our 4G LTE launches we continue to innovate and evolve. As we introduce our markets with 4G LTE service, we are planning for the future and making way for migrating voice to VOLTE. While the ecosystem will evolve over time, once we move towards VOLTE, we expect important spectral efficiencies and cost savings will be achieved. With our adoption of 4G LTE and the movement to VOLTE, for the first time, we will be able to realize the benefits of a worldwide standard, which will include scale that comes from worldwide production being on a global standard. The GSM operators have enjoyed this advantage historically. So with LTE, MetroPCS will also benefit from a global standard.
"Further with combined voice and data, we'll have the ability to build capacity without regard to whether it will be used for voice or data. This was one of the key attributes of 1xRTT CDMA and this will once again be the case with the 4G LTE. In the first half of 2011, we intend to trial VOLTE and we look forward to transitioning our smartphone customers to LTE on voice and data. This holds the promise for significant leverage of both CapEx and OpEx cost savings. While still early, we expect 4G LTE to be the transformative technology to usher in a sea change in overall network efficiency to support the ever-increasing demand for data.
"Additionally, as handset ecosystems develop with an increasing emphasis on smartphones and QWERTY handsets, subscribers will have additional choices in finding the best wireless broadband device that meets their needs. Our focus has been and continues to be meeting customer needs as they relate to the small screen, smartphone or QWERTY handsets. We believe the small screen is where we have the greatest wireless broadband opportunity, and we are pursuing this opportunity aggressively. We are also committed to bringing smartphones to our subscribers that operate on the Android operating system. We have traditionally focused on voice, text and web service. However, with the development and inherent advantages of 4G LTE, we see an opportunity to transform our business. Increasingly, streaming video and audio are becoming a large and more important part of the wireless experience. We believe demands for video will grown significantly over the next few years. Our belief is that we are entering an environment in which subscribers will be viewing increasing amounts of video for purposes of news and entertainment. Our MetroSTUDIO service was deployed with entertainment in mind. With our MetroSTUDIO service, we believe our smartphones and services can become a true entertainment device, which allows subscribers to view and enjoy entertainment while on the go. Wireless broadband experience comes down to coverage and costs. We believe we are well positioned with our current service offerings, our 4G LTE network roadmap, as well as our future handset lineup to continue driving subscriber growth.
"As the cost leader in the wireless industry with a state-of-the-art 4G broadband network and a strong network of exclusive distributors, we are in an excellent position to continue our leadership in the no-contract segment. We continue to scale the business and we intend to deliver accelerated free cash flow in the future. The efficiencies and economies to be gained through moving now to a 4G LTE network enable for the first time EBITDA and cash flow to move in the same direction. This change has the potential to enhance profitability throughout the industry and from our current view, enhance profitability conservatives and [ph] important to drive future wireless valuations."
a portion of Linquist's comments on 11/4/10 CC, from Seeking Alpha.
