MVNO Ting to offer LTE service via Sprint's network

Mobile virtual network operator Ting, which currently uses the Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) 3G CDMA network and Clearwire's (NASDAQ:CLWR) mobile WiMAX network, said it will offer LTE data services using Sprint's LTE network when Sprint launches the network later this year. Sprint has said it will begin launching LTE markets by mid-year.

"We have several LTE devices including data sticks, mobile hotspots and some pretty spiffy smartphones in-bound to coincide with the launch of the LTE network," Ken Schafer, executive vice president of products at Tucows, which runs Ting, wrote in a blog post. "More news as we're able to share it."

Ting started offering service to consumers Feb. 1. Customers have minutes, text messages and data divided into different buckets. If customers use more than they have paid for in a certain month, they are not charged an overage fee, but instead get bumped up to the next usage tier for that month. Likewise, if customers use less than they had thought they would need, they are bumped down to the next lowest usage tier and will receive a credit on their bill for the difference. Users can continuously monitor their usage via an online dashboard. Ting also lets customers have multiple phones under one account and share pools of minutes, text messages and data.

For more:
- see this Ting blog post

Special Report: Will today's next-generation MVNOs shake up the U.S. market?

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