14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that next year the North American continent will be covered up with LTE networks, since Rogers also plans to make this enhancement to its infrastructure, the same as Verizon does, as we've already learned. At a conference call previous to the announcement regarding its financial results, mobile phone carrier Rogers highlighted some of its plans regarding the roll-out of the LTE network.
According to the company, the development of the LTE network is already ahead schedule and things seem to go quite well, since it managed to peak 50 Mbps download speeds in tests without making optimizations. At the same time, the carrier seems pretty confident that it will manage to provide download speeds of around 70 Mbps when the network will be launched.
Rogers expects its LTE network to be ready for launch in February next year, just in time for the 2010 Olympics, and stated that the roll-out would take place in Vancouver and the surrounding area. According to the company, the launch of the service will be made with a USB stick, though it does not plan to have any 4G-enabled handsets released at that time.
On the other hand, the operator plans to extend the reach of the LTE network beyond the Vancouver area during the second quarter of 2010, and also announced that it would have 4G phones released by the end of the second quarter next year, along with the expansion of the network.
At the same time, the company also stated that, although the launch of its 3G network was in fact a big mess, all the necessary precautions are taken so the same thing won't happen with the 4G network roll-out as well.
At the same conference call, Rogers also announced plans to merge its three Internet systems, cable Internet, 3G and its Portable Internet system, a move that would allow it to expand its available HD content. The current 3G network won't be able to sustain additional load, but the company plans to move its cable Internet network over to the 4G network, something that would allow it to free up cable for more HD. The process will be a slow one, since the LTE network will only be widely deployed and stable in the third quarter of 2010.
In addition, Rogers also plans to roll-out dual-network modems, cable and 4G, which would allow the company to move Internet service to LTE and thus keep the cable only as a backup solution.