Just days after MetroPCS began allowing consumer in select markets to bring their own unlocked GSM handset onto its service, the carrier has now started selling two new HSPA+-compatible smartphones that can connect to T-Mobile's network. T-Mobile today announced that MetroPCS is now offering the LG Optimus L9 and Samsung Galaxy Exhibit in Boston, Las Vegas and Hartford, three markets in which its Bring Your Own Phone program is also live. MetroPCS will also begin selling a refreshed version of the Samsung Galaxy S III on June 17 that will feature 4G LTE and HSPA+ support.
T-Mobile says that the launch of MetroPCS's Bring Your Own Phone program and its sales of HSPA+ handsets have put the process of migrating MetroPCS customers to T-Mobile's network ahead of schedule. As MetroPCS customers continue to switch from Metro's network to T-Mobile's, that freed up spectrum will be used to supplement the T-Mobile LTE network. T-Mobile expects the full migration of MetroPCS subscribers to T-Mobile's network by the time that 2015 wraps up.
During the time that T-Mobile and MetroPCS were campaigning for approval of their proposed merger, the two companies named off several benefits that would come from the completed deal, including a wider handset selection for Metro users and better coverage for T-Mo folk. It's good to see that T-Mobile is already working to integrate MetroPCS's customers and network with its own, bringing the benefits that it detailed last year to customers less than two months after T-Mo and Metro became one. There's no word yet on when MetroPCS will launch its Bring Your Own Phone program or its HSPA+ phones in additional markets, but here's to hoping that T-Mobile can keep up its rapid pace and roll them out to more cities soon.
Via PhoneScoop, T-Mobile
