Rogers testing LTE wireless in Ottawa

Rogers has started running a ‘comprehensive’ trial of it’s LTE wireless network in the nations capital, which could bring download speeds of up to 150 Mbps to mobile devices.  LTE is a 4G technology meant to replace existing 3G networks.  Both LTE and WiMax, which around for a quite some time now, are just starting to see adoption as standards.  At one point there was speculation that LTE would be in Vancouver by the 2010 Olympics, but that never really panned out.

“LTE is the next generation platform delivering superior mobile speed and functionality similar to what Canadians currently experience at home and at work. This technical trial is significant because it builds on our industry-leading networks and it sets the groundwork for our customers to do even more in the future.”  Nadir Mohamed, President and CEO, Rogers

LTE is likely to become the 4G standard going forward, compared to WiMax, and while faster speeds are always good, it’s hard not to be just a little cynical (or maybe rightly jaded) about this.  Just like in the landline ISP market, all that speed doesn’t account for much when data caps are comic-tragically low.

PRESS RELEASE

TORONTO, Oct 6 /CNW/ – Rogers Communications Inc. today announced the launch of a comprehensive Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network technical trial with Ericsson Canada in the Ottawa area.

LTE is a fourth generation (4G) wireless technology that enables lightning-fast HD video streaming, gaming, communications, transactions and other connected experiences through mobile Internet. LTE allows significantly more data to pass through a network at speeds of up to 150 Mbps and it will become the foundation in a world defined by connected experiences.

“Our customers increasingly want anywhere, anytime access to information, communications, entertainment and transactional experiences on their device of choice,” said Nadir Mohamed, President and Chief Executive Officer, Rogers Communications Inc. “LTE is the next generation platform delivering superior mobile speed and functionality similar to what Canadians currently experience at home and at work. This technical trial is significant because it builds on our industry-leading networks and it sets the groundwork for our customers to do even more in the future.”

Ericsson, in co-operation with Rogers, has been conducting LTE lab testing at its Ottawa Research and Development facility comparing speeds and performance of LTE technology in multiple frequency bands. Rogers will expand on this testing and move to a comprehensive technical trial of LTE on both low and high band frequencies across the Ottawa area.

“Through this trial we will validate how LTE technology will perform in real world situations across a variety of spectrum frequencies in urban, suburban, and rural environments,” said Bob Berner, EVP, Network and Chief Technology Officer, Rogers Communications Inc. “Furthermore, we will verify LTE data throughput speeds, performance quality, and interoperability of LTE with our existing advanced HSPA+ network ensuring that future commercial deployment enables the best customer experience.

The technical trial will initially use recently auctioned AWS spectrum. Rogers is also working with Industry Canada to secure a development license to use 700 MHz spectrum for the trial.

“We are proud that our LTE competence and unique expertise in Canada is empowering some of the largest LTE deployments around the world,” said Hans Vestberg, President & CEO, Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson.

“Having operated in Canada for nearly 60 years and as one of the country’s top R&D investors employing more than 2400 engineers/developers, Ericsson is leading LTE development at our Ottawa lab, bringing the most advanced mobile broadband technologies to Canadians and global markets,” said Mark Henderson, President & CEO, Ericsson Canada Inc.