Ting becomes first US MVNO to offer LTE

Ting, the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) has become the first reseller in the United States to offer its subscribers access to Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology.

Ting, which already offers voice and data services over Sprint’s legacy CDMA network, has confirmed that the LTE-compatible Galaxy S III handset began shipping to its customer base this week, effectively removing the final obstacle standing in the way of the MVNO competing with its host carrier on a level playing field. Sprint only barred the Galaxy S III from its partners for two months and made LTE access available to Ting and data-only MVNO FreedomPop immediately after its network went live.

“All of the market trends we’re talking about today are allowing us to be competitive at the high-end. The reason we’re first is because of our nature as an internet company. We’re just more used to moving quickly.” Tucows CEO Elliot Noss commented.

Although Ting has yet to open negotiations with Apple or Sprint regarding rights to sell the iPhone, he admitted “I’ll put it this way: I would be disappointed if we didn’t have the iPhone by next summer. That kind of hold back of iconic devices is beginning to make less and less [business] sense.”