Canadian telecommunications provider Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI) rolled out the country’s first LTE network late last week, getting a jump on its rivals.
The launch was limited to the Ottawa region, with plans to expand coverage to Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal later this year and 21 markets by the end of 2012. While the coverage area is limited, so is the device line up with currently only a wireless modem from Sierra Wireless Inc. able to access the network, though Rogers said it plans to add smartphones from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and HTC Corp. later this year.
The network deployment was handled in connection with Ericsson, which has been handling network trials in Ottawa and Montreal since last fall. Rogers said that customers should see network download speeds between 12 megabits and 25 megabits per second, which is about double what domestic operator Verizon Wireless said customers would see with its recent LTE launch. Though, it should be noted that published tests have shown Verizon Wireless’ network providing faster speeds than what the carrier has said to expect.
Rogers first with LTE in Canada
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