Long Term Evolution (LTE) has the capability of reaching peak download speeds of up to 150 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 70 Mbps. Rogers already has LTE live in Ottawa and will be turning Toronto on September 28th. Even regional carrier SaskTel said their LTE network will be available to their customers early fall of 2012.
Bell announced their intentions to go live with their LTE network “in certain Canadian markets in 2011“… but at the time there was no indication of which cities would be included. That’s all changing tomorrow.
Today, in an after hours press release, Bell announced they will “launch 4G LTE network in Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph tomorrow”. So you can now mark down September 14th as the day that LTE rocketed into various southern Ontario markets all at once. As for what they’ll offer, up first is the 4G LTE Sierra Wireless U313 Turbo Stick, priced at $79.95 on a 3-year contract or $219.95 with no-contract. They also stated “in coming weeks” the 4G LTE Novatel Wireless U679 Turbo Stick will be available. No word on any LTE handsets or tablets. The data -flex rate plans start at $45/month for 1.5 GB (Same as the Rogers basic LTE rate plan).
Bell also stated these initial launch locations are the first to experience LTE, but “additional Canadian markets this year and through 2012”.
Wade Oosterman, President of Bell Mobility, said “LTE is the next step in ensuring Bell continues to deliver the best networks in the world to Canadian consumers and businesses, backed up by the newest data devices and the leading mobile services and content available. LTE will deliver amazing data access speeds – at least three times faster than the Bell HSPA+ network originally launched less than three years ago”.
Source: CNW
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
