Cellular South has just announced they will be spending 90 million dollars in network expansion to ready themselves for their LTE network. This involves new towers, thousands of miles of new fiber, a significant boost in network capacity, and the obligatory enhanced backhaul. We all know the big four providers here in the states, but few realize that Cellular South is the nation's largest privately held wireless provider in the US, and actually has a higher rate of smartphone adoption than any other carrier. This is "driving an explosive demand for mobile data services" says Kevin Hankins, chief operating officer for Cellular South.
Most of the new expansion will be in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama where 258 new cell sites are planned, to serve 42 different counties. There will also be capacity boosts at major colleges this fall, including up to 150 percent capacity increases on the Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and University of Southern Mississippi campuses and expanded coverage at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, the home of Jackson State University football. While we have no timetable for any LTE rollout, it appears the Cellular South is getting itself ready for it's appearance. You can read the full press release after the break.
“Our industry-leading smartphone penetration rate is driving an explosive demand for mobile data services. These network enhancements will pave the way for the deployment of our 4G LTE network, which allows us to offer even faster speeds and deliver voice and data services with exceptional reliability and performance”
- Expanded network capacity by installing 110 spectrum carriers at 110 cell sites in 20 counties serving central and south Mississippi, the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the Delta
- Installed enhanced backhaul connections at 300 cell sites to enable 4G speeds and to boost capacity and handle more mobile traffic
- Activated 20 new cell sites to expand coverage and network quality for wireless voice and data communications
- Placed over 14,000 strand miles of single mode fiber optics to boost capacity, data transmission and network redundancy through an agreement with Jackson-based Telepak Networks, Inc., a full service provider of transport, Internet, telecommunications and network services
- Added mobile broadband high speed data services on the Interstate 55 south corridor linking Jackson to Brookhaven, including Hazlehurst and Crystal Springs
- Enhanced network capacity by installing 285 spectrum carriers at 258 cell sites serving 42 counties in other parts of its service area in Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama
- Installation of enhanced backhaul capacity at 308 cell sites to enable 4G speeds and to boost capacity and handle more mobile traffic
- Activation of 51 new cell sites to expand coverage and network quality for wireless voice and data communications
- Capacity boosts at major colleges this fall, including up to 150 percent capacity increases on the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss), Mississippi State University (MSU) and University of Southern Mississippi (USM) campuses and expanded coverage at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, the home of Jackson State University football
- Placement of 32,400 strand miles of single mode fiber optics to boost capacity, data transmission and network redundancy through an agreement with Telepak Networks, Inc.
- Addition of mobile broadband high speed data services for several areas in Mississippi, including Magee, Newton, Decatur, Union, Booneville and Baldwyn
- Completion of an extensive, network-wide core and switching systems infrastructure capacity upgrade project with Alcatel-Lucent, one of the most experienced global network technology providers in the world

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