US number four operator T-Mobile USA announced further details of its 4G rollout plans, following the failure of its merger with AT&T late last year. The company is planning to invest US$4 billion in a network modernisation and evolution effort.

The company is gaining AWS spectrum as a result of the termination of the AT&T deal, and it is also refarming its PCS frequencies to support 3G (HSPA+) services, to free up additional AWS capacity for LTE technology This will give it enough spectrum  to roll out LTE with 20MHz channels to “about 75 percent of the top 25 markets in 2013,” according to a Q&A blog with CTO Neville Ray, with most of the remaining having 10MHz.

With regard to its late entry to the LTE market when compared to rivals AT&T and Verizon Wireless, Ray argued that “we have the advantage of coming to market at a time when the price points on LTE devices and network infrastructure will be coming down and the performance of LTE devices and network infrastructure will be improving.”

Ray added that the company is planning to deploy LTE release 10-compatible equipment, “so we’ll be well-positioned and ready to move to LTE Advanced.”

Ray also said in his blog that 84Mb/s HSPA is “something we’ll continue to evaluate,” but that the priority now is preparing for the rollout of LTE.

In a recent statement, T-Mobile said it will invest "a total of US$4 billion over time into network modernisation and LTE deployment. Over the next two years, this represents approximately US$1.4 billion in incremental network investment."

Last month, Philipp Humm, CEO and president, said: “over the next two years, we’re prioritising and investing in initiatives designed to get T-Mobile back to growth in the years ahead — beginning with the transformation of our network.” T-Mobile USA is also planning to “aggressively” pursue the business-to-business segment, expanding its sales force by 1,000; ramping up its advertising spending; and attracting new MVNO partners. It will also continue to remodel its retail stores and expand distribution.

Meanwhile the carrier this week joined US rural service provider group RCA, stating that “we share RCA’s goal of promoting a healthy, competitive wireless industry and look forward to working with the other RCA members on advocacy efforts that advance competition and ultimately benefit US wireless customers.”