Sprint 4G LTE now available in the Hampton Roads, Virginia, area

Sprint announced today an aggressive plan to roll out their 4G LTE coverage to 28 more markets over the coming months. Sprint may still be behind Verizon’s behemoth 4G LTE network in terms of size, but Sprint’s efforts show that it may not be long before they surpass AT&T who has been much slower in their 4G LTE expansion. The 28 markets officially announced by Sprint today getting 4G LTE are: Albany, Ga.; Anderson, S.C.; Bay City, Mich.; Branson, Mo.; Bremerton/Silverdale, Wash.; Columbus, Ga.; Columbus, Miss.; Decatur, Ala.; Florence/Muscle Shoals, Ala.; Gadsden, Ala.; Gaffney, S.C.; Gettysburg, Pa.; Glasgow, Ky.; Homosassa Springs, Fla.; Hot Springs, Ark.; Lake City, Fla.; Lake Havasu City/Kingman, Ariz.; Midland, Mich.; Nacogdoches, Texas; Opelousas/Eunice, La.; Oxford, Miss.; Paris, Texas; Pittsfield, Mass.; Saginaw, Mich.; Spartanburg, S.C.; The Villages, Fla.; Waycross, Ga.; Winona, Minn.

However, if you live in the Hampton Roads, VA, area (Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton, or Newport News), 4G LTE is already live. Mind Of The Geek has confirmed that Sprint 4G LTE is live in Virginia Beach, VA, in the Rosemont Road/Princess Anne Plaza neighborhood as well as the Landstown/Salem neighborhood now. Our tests also show that Sprint’s 4G LTE network is definitely speedy, with downloads at 19 Mbps, and uploads at 8 Mbps on a LG Optimus G. These speeds bested our Verizon iPhone 5 on LTE which clocked in at 15 Mbps download and 6 Mbps upload.

Sprint has not made any formal announcements of 4G LTE availability in the Hampton Roads, VA, area, and their website only shows 3G coverage for the area. However, this isn’t the first time Sprint has quietly rolled out 4G LTE prior to a formal announcement, as many Sprint customers in the first launch markets were seeing 4G LTE signals weeks before an official announcement. Sprint has aggressively been working at releasing more devices compatible with their burgeoning 4G LTE network after abruptly giving up on their original 4G Wi-Max network. A full list of Sprint 4G LTE capable smartphones, including the LG Optimus G (now buy one, get one free), can be found on Sprint’s website.

Hampton Roads, Virginia, Sprint users, have you been receiving 4G LTE as well? Tell us what neighborhood you’re in and share your own speed test results in the comments.