AT&T has said that it plans to begin work on its LTE-Advanced service later this year, but it looks like it's not the only U.S. carrier talking LTE-A in 2013. Dave Mayo, T-Mobile's SVP of Technology, Strategy, Finance and Development, revealed today at the Light Reading Backhaul Strategies for Mobile Operators event that his carrier intends to add LTE-Advanced characteristics to its LTE network in 2013. Mayo wouldn't divulge exactly what T-Mobile has planned, saying only that the magenta operator "will begin rolling out LTE-Advanced features later this year."

Obviously T-Mobile's LTE-A plans are a bit up in the air right now, but Light Reading Mobile suggests that T-Mobile could utilize its AWS and 1900MHz spectrum to add carrier aggregation to its LTE network. Doing so would bond the separate radio channels together to help produce increased data speeds. Mayo did tease that T-Mobile plans to upgrade "a few" of its antennas to MIMO this year, which would provide faster uplink and downlink. Mayo also said that T-Mobile is currently working to upgrade is macro network with LTE, with plans to beef up 32,000 of its 57,000 cell sites with goodies that'll include tower-top electronics to help the sites produce a stronger signal.

T-Mobile may have been the last of the major U.S. operators to launch an LTE network, but it looks like the magenta carrier is working hard to improve its service and catch up to its competition. While T-Mo's LTE network is officially available in seven markets right now, many customers are starting to see flickers of LTE life in other markets, meaning that we could see some expansions in the near future. Have you been able to access T-Mobile's LTE service yet?

Via TmoNews, Light Reading Mobile