Metro PCS 2010 Annual Report Download - page 46

36
work as anticipated, or which may take longer to deploy than anticipated. We currently are dependent on a limited
number of infrastructure and equipment providers to assist us in the development and deployment of our 4G LTE
network and to manufacture equipment for use on our network. Our plans to upgrade our network to 4G LTE
technology may result in additional risks and expenditures such as, among other things:
• inability to timely develop and engineer design and network changes for the deployment and offering of 4G
LTE services;
• reliance on existing engineering staff in each of our metropolitan markets to oversee our 4G LTE
deployment;
• delay in the deployment of our 4G LTE networks due to lack of necessary equipment and products being
designed and manufactured or due to limited staffing resources and lack of proper coordination across all
our markets;
• network and system compatibility issues;
• unanticipated and unforeseen costs or higher costs attributable to the lack of experience with 4G LTE
technology and the implementation of the deployment of 4G LTE technology and the maintenance of the
4G LTE technology and network;
• inability to acquire or lease additional cell sites or lease additional space at existing cell sites needed for
expansion;
• obtaining necessary permits and regulatory approvals or third-party approvals for network construction,
implementation and deployment;
• possible quality and reliability issues of the 4G LTE network once deployed due to integration,
compatibility or coverage concerns;
• dependency on a limited number of providers for necessary engineering, design and manufacture of
technology, equipment and products compatible with 4G LTE technology; and
• ongoing improvements with digital technology and shorter development cycles for new equipment,
technology and products with the everchanging customer requirements and preferences.
In the meantime, our limited spectrum may require us to lease more cell sites to provide equivalent service, spend
greater capital compared to our competitors, deploy more expensive network equipment, such as six-sector antennas,
make more extensive use of DAS systems, deploy equipment sooner, or make us more dependent on technological
development, than our competitors. There can be no assurance that we can lease adequate tower sites or additional
spectrum, have access to DAS systems, or that our suppliers will undertake the necessary and timely technological
developments. Moreover, once deployed on a commercial basis, our 4G LTE technology may not perform as
expected or deliver the quality and types of services or performance we expect. We cannot assure you that necessary
quantities of equipment and compatible devices will be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, or will
operate on our network or will provide the customer with the quality and quantity of features desired, nor that when
delivered such equipment and devices will be at cost-effective prices.
If the anticipated development and deployment of our 4G LTE technology improvements are not achieved, or are
not achieved in the projected timeframes, or at the costs we anticipate or can afford, or are not developed by our
existing suppliers, we may not have adequate spectrum in certain metropolitan areas, which may limit our ability to
increase our customer base, may inhibit our ability to achieve additional economies of scale, may limit our ability to
offer new services offered by our competitors, may require us to spend considerably more capital and incur more
operating expenses than our competitors with more spectrum, and may force us to purchase additional spectrum at a
potentially material cost. If our network infrastructure vendors do not supply such improvements, or materially delay
the delivery of such improvements, and other network equipment manufacturers are able to develop such
technology, we may be at a material competitive disadvantage to our competitors and we may be required to change
network infrastructure vendors, which would result in lost time and expense. Further, our 4G LTE expansion may
result in the degradation of our existing services. There can be no assurance that we can deploy and implement our
4G LTE services timely and at a level that will meet customer expectations, provide wireless broadband mobile data