Rogers has been rolling out its LTE network beginning with Ottawa and now Toronto. LTE devices are theoretically capable of 75Mbps download speeds, although typical user experiences put the actual download speeds somewhere between 12 and 15 Mbps. Click through to continue reading.
Continue reading ‘Rogers LTE Network Set To Launch in Toronto September 28th’
Tag: lte
Rogers has flipped the switch on the LTE network in Ottawa and the above map shows the coverage. The coverage is really decent and it’s interesting that Rogers chose Ottawa as the launch city. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the city is so incredibly vast and 90% of it is in a country setting. That brings to mind what the value of LTE is over WiFi. While LTE speeds are great for those who are on the move and want high speeds on their laptop, most people will probably just opt for a location with WiFi if possible. There are very few times when the average person is going to be in need of a connection, with no WiFi available, unable to tether or in need of speeds faster than 3G, and willing to pay the price for the Rocket Stick.
Who is actually buying into LTE? Perhaps we should be looking at better WiFi solutions before thinking about how to get little Johnny playing Call of Duty on his laptop while on the 20 minute bus ride home.
We’re also not even sure how much the Rocket Stick even costs yet. According to Rogers, it will be $169.99 no term and $79.99 on a 3-year. Plan details will be announced when the sticks are available for pickup.
Rogers has announced that Ottawa will be the first city in Canada to experience LTE. On top of this, Rogers is starting to take reservations for the first LTE enabled device, Sierra Rocket Stick through the Rogers Reservation System which can be accessed through MyRogers. This system allows you to secure a place “in line” for the device without having to visit a store or call first.
How do you feel about LTE? Do you really need faster speeds on your BlackBerry or laptop? 3G is a really decent connection to get business done, unless you’re streaming HD video. If you’re on the go, you’re probably roaming, in which case you don’t want to be streaming large movie files anyways. There are probably a handful of people who will benefit tremendously from LTE, but it doesn’t seem like the average consumer really needs it.
You can read more about this announcement on the Rogers RedBoard or sign up at IwantmyLTE.ca to be notified when LTE is coming to your area.
Rogers has announced that they will be launching LTE (Long Term Evolution) in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa in 2011 with the top 25 markets across the country coming online in 2012. Rogers claims the LTE network will be capable of download speeds of 150 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 70 Mbps. These numbers will of course fluctuate based on your mobile device. LTE will enable the following:
- Everyone will be able to watch streaming movies and live HDTV on their mobile devices, with crisp picture and virtually no buffering or delays
- Friends and families can video chat seamlessly – as natural as talking on the phone, with virtually no lag time
- Gamers can play their favourite multiplayer games from almost anywhere
- Businesses can implement a truly mobile workforce that is both as efficient and secure as a traditional workplace
To learn more, head over to IwantmyLTE.ca.
RIM is once again considering acquiring the patents for Nortel’s CDMA and LTE technologies. Control over these patents will help ward off costly and untimely lawsuits that seem to plague every big player in the mobile industry. The patents will also go into developing wireless products and services for the next generation of mobile connectivity.
The bid will be rivaling that of Google’s $900-million bid on the entire set of set of over 6000 wireless patents. Google has been trying to grow the size of its mobile patent portfolio ever since they acquired Android Inc. in 2005.
RIM has been fighting for these patents for a couple of years now and seems poised to grab a least a small piece of Nortel’s formidable mobile patent portfolio.
RIM has some decent PlayBook news coming out of Mobile World Congress including confirmation that we will see two new variants of the BlackBerry 4G PlayBook in the second half of 2011. These new PlayBooks support LTE and HSPA+ high speed wide area wireless networks. After this announcement, we now have confirmation that there will be four PlayBook variants with support for WiFi, WiFi +WiMax, WiFi + LTE and WiFi + HSPA+. In addition to the WiFi and 4G connectivity, each tablet can also support:
1. Bluetooth tethering
2. Mobile hotspots (ie. a MiFi™, smartphone or other portable device equipped to act as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot)
3. BlackBerry Bridge
See the press release below.
Continue reading ‘RIM Confirms BlackBerry 4G PlayBooks with LTE and HSPA+ Support’
