AT&T expects to complete nationwide deployment of its LTE-M network in the second quarter of 2017 and plans a launch across Mexico by the end of the year.

The US operator last year said it would roll out the low power wide area  (LPWA) network throughout 2017, and in a statement said it is now ahead of schedule.

AT&T switched on its first North American LTE-M enabled commercial site in October in California, after choosing the technology for large scale IoT deployments.

The operator, along with US rival Verizon, opted for LTE-M over two other cellular-based LPWA technologies – NB-IoT (which is popular with operators in Europe) and EC GSM IoT, which were all ratified by standards body 3GPP last June.

All three technologies are rivalled by unlicensed offerings such as the networks offered by Sigfox and the LoRA alliance.

AT&T repeatedly touted the benefits of LTE-M over other technologies, stating the network will provide lower device costs, longer battery life, better coverage underground and deep inside buildings, and smaller module size.

Regarding the company’s expansion into Mexico, the company hinted at this year’s CES in January about such a move, and it has now been confirmed.

“We fully expect to have nationwide availability of LTE-M technology in Mexico by the end of 2017. This is huge for our enterprise customers. Its an important step to help accelerate the speed of business,” added Kelly King, CEO of AT&T Mexico.