Last year, both Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile announced that they would begin offering 4G to their customers, utilizing the WiMAX network that Sprint had left behind in its move to LTE. Fast-forward to today and Boost and Virgin are again taking advantage of a Sprint network to offer new 4G service, but this time it's LTE that they're introducing to their users. The two prepaid operators have announced this morning that they'll be launching LTE-capable hardware that will be able to access Sprint's LTE network, which is currently available in 58 cities across the country.
Virgin Mobile is the first out of the gate with the LTE goodness, as the carrier is selling the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE on its website starting today for $299.99. The Galaxy Victory will roll out to retailers in mid-March. Virgin says that the Victory will be compatible with its $35 Beyond Talk plans that start at $35 per month for 300 minutes and unlimited messaging and data, though it's worth noting that after hitting 2.5GB of 3G/4G data use in a single month, users will have their speeds throttled to 256Kbps for the remainder of that plan cycle. Virgin customers can expect the Galaxy Victory to sport the following features:
Boost Mobile customers won't have to wait long to get their 4G LTE fix, as the carrier says it'll launch both the HTC One SV and the Boost Force on March 7. The two handsets will be compatible with Boost's $55 per month Android Monthly Unlimited with Shrinking Payments plan, which includes unlimited talk, text and web. As with Virgin's plans, though, Boost customers will have their data speeds throttled for the remainder of their plan cycle after 2.5GB of high-speed use in a single cycle. Boost's plan also shrinks by $5 for every six on-time payments that a user makes, and the plan can get as low as $40 per month. Here's the rundown of Boost's first pair of LTE-capable smartphones:
HTC One SV
Boost Force
It may have taken a tad longer than some Boost and Virgin customers may have liked, but it's good to see these two Sprint subsidiaries finally getting in on the 4G LTE fun. Even better is that Boost and Virgin's existing rate plans will work with its new LTE hardware, so any customers that want to make the jump to LTE won't be paying extra fees to do so. It's also worth noting that while Sprint has announced plans to roll out its LTE network to nearly another 170 cities in the coming months, and once it does, Boost and Virgin users in those areas will also be able to get in on the LTE action. So, who's planning on picking up some new LTE-capable hardware on Boost or Virgin?
Via Sprint (1), (2)
![ZTE says Grand Memo will pack 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, ZTE Open also detailed [UPDATED]](https://news.wirefly.com/sites/phonedog.com/files/styles/blog_entry_block_views/public/blog/featured_image/2013/02/176491-main-xlarge-zte-talks-grand-memo-open.jpg?itok=_gyVG1dz)
