2013-04-26

Ooredoo launches 4G network to provide ultra-fast mobile broadband in Qatar

Press-release, via LTE Depot. Nokia Siemens Networks has provided a complete radio and core network infrastructure

Ooredoo has launched ultra-fast 4G mobile broadband services with data speeds up to three to six times faster than 3G for its customers in Doha. Nokia Siemens Networks as the sole supplier built the complete LTE (long term evolution) radio and core network for the operator.

“Mobile broadband use in Qatar is growing at a dramatic pace and so is subscriber demand for faster mobile broadband,” said Waleed Al Sayed, Chief Operating Officer, Ooredoo. “With the support of our long-standing partner Nokia Siemens Networks, our LTE network delivers truly satisfying super-fast 4G services for bandwidth hungry customers in today’s data-dominated world.”

“With our LTE infrastructure, Ooredoo’s LTE network raises the bar for data services in the country and the operator can keep pace with the surge in smartphone adoption and bandwidth-intensive applications and services,” said Qais Esrawee, head of sub-region, Nokia Siemens Networks. “Nokia Siemens Networks’ radio network platform saves not only energy and space with its compact nature, but also capital costs for Ooredoo, as our radio access network is future-proof and runs 2G, 3G and 4G (LTE) services concurrently on the same platform.”

Under the contract, Nokia Siemens Networks as the sole supplier provided its Single RAN (radio access network) based on its award-winning, energy-efficient Flexi Multiradio Base Station. In addition, the company provided its Evolved Packet Core (EPC) platform, including Flexi NS (network server), Flexi NG (network gateway), and Liquid Core based SGSN (serving GPRS support node). Nokia Siemens Networks’ voice call solution Circuit Switched Fall Back (CSFB)* has enabled Ooredoo’s 4G customers to make voice calls using either the operator’s GSM or 3G networks while enjoying text messaging (SMS) and data services through the LTE network. At a later stage, Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) will be introduced allowing Ooredoo’s 4G customers to make voice calls without having to fall back to GSM or 3G networks.

Nokia Siemens Networks also upgraded its NetAct network management system for consolidated configuration, monitoring and network optimization of Ooredoo’s GSM, 3G and LTE networks. In order to provide the most secure LTE network without any degradation in throughput, Nokia Siemens Networks supplied its 3GPP LTE security solution. The company also provided its network implementation services for a smooth and rapid rollout. It will continue to maintain the high quality of the LTE network for Ooredoo with its care services.


Source: http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com/news-events/press-room/press-releases/ooredoo-launches-4g-network-to-provide-ultra-fast-mobile-broadband-in-qatar

More about Ooredoo (Qtel), Qatar https://sites.google.com/site/ltedepot/home/country/quatar/qtel-quatar

2013-04-21

Verizon Wireless Expands Its 4G LTE Network In Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania

Press-release, via LTE Depot. 

WHO:
Verizon Wireless, operator of the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network.

WHAT:
Verizon Wireless customers in more portions of Huntingdon County can now experience the speed and capabilities offered by the nation’s largest 4G LTE network with the company’s expansion of 4G LTE in the area.

WHERE:
The north and northeast portions of Raystown Lake, and;
The southeast portion of the county including the borough of Orbisonia.

For street-level detail of coverage and more, please visit www.verizonwireless.com/4GLTE.

BACKGROUND:
The growth of the company’s 4G LTE network has enabled innovative solutions that consumers and businesses across Pennsylvania and the country take advantage of in their daily lives. These solutions include everything from LTE-connected cars to healthcare solutions for monitoring patients remotely.

With the continued rollout of its 4G LTE network, Verizon Wireless is maintaining its excellence in customer service and continuing to offer its customers consistently reliable 4G LTE speeds. A recent survey conducted by J.D. Power and Associates determined that not only were 4G LTE customers happier with their experience than 3G customers, but Verizon Wireless scored above the regional average in all six regions surveyed and ranked highest among major U.S. wireless service providers in five regions.

“With our 4G LTE network, customers can take advantage of the speeds offered by our 4G LTE devices and the innovative solutions that leverage 4G LTE technology to enhance connectivity,” said Mark Frazier, president-Ohio/Pennsylvania/West Virginia, Verizon Wireless. “We were the first to bring 4G LTE to Pennsylvania. As we continue to expand and enhance our 4G LTE network, our customers will be able to see, firsthand, the innovations that are being brought to market through 4G LTE technology.”

As of today, the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network is available to 287 million people in 491 markets across the nation, covering more than 95 percent of Verizon’s current 3G network footprint.


2013-04-14

TELUS’ 4G LTE wireless service launches in Saskatchewan


Regina and Saskatoon now home to the fastest wireless technology in the world

Regina/Saskatoon, SK, 2013-04-11, press-release via LTE Depot – TELUS today announced it is offering service on Canada’s largest 4G LTE network to customers in Regina and Saskatoon. Now even more customers in Saskatchewan can experience dramatically faster downloads when surfing the web, reading emails or getting the latest chart topping music and social media sites.

“Already enjoying Saskatchewan’s largest 4G network, we are pleased to welcome residents of Regina and Saskatoon to our 4G LTE wireless network service, which now covers more than 24 million Canadians across the country,” said Brent Johnston, vice-president, TELUS Mobility Solutions. “TELUS is committed to putting customers in Saskatchewan first by providing the best service, the fastest wireless technology available in the world today and the latest devices to keep connected while on the go.”

TELUS’ blazing fast 4G LTE service now covers more than 70 per cent of the Canadian population across approximately 170 markets. TELUS will launch its 4G LTE service in other regions of Saskatchewan in the coming months.

4G LTE is the new global standard for wireless technology with most new handsets built to take advantage of its superior speed with manufacturers’ rated peak download speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps), with an expected average of 10 to 15 Mbps.  TELUS customers can already experience the full capabilities of TELUS’ 4G LTE network service on  popular devices such as the BlackBerry Z10, Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note II, Samsung Rugby LTE, Samsung ATIV S, LG Optimus G, HTC One X+, and the Huawei E397 4G LTE Mobile Internet Key and Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE.

For the best possible wireless experience, TELUS also recently launched the TELUS Network Experience app which gives customers an easy way to report any network issues while on-the-go right from their mobile device. Customers can download the TELUS Network Experience (TNE) application for free through app stores on 4G phones including Android, iPhone and BlackBerry smartphones. TNE will be available on BlackBerry Z10 devices in the coming months.

4G LTE is the latest evolution in TELUS’ wireless network technology plan made possible by the 2009 launch of its coast-to-coast 4G HSPA wireless network service. Today this network reaches more than 97 per cent of Canadians. The 4G HSPA network in Saskatchewan covers 99 per cent of the province’s population. Since 2000, TELUS has invested more than $30 billion to bring Canadians some of the most advanced wireless networks in the world.

Putting Customers First:
Additionally, TELUS is putting customers first and embracing new ideas to make the TELUS experience even better. By listening to customers, TELUS has not only launched Canada’s first network experience mobile application to report network issues, it has also eliminated activation fees and dramatically simplified its entire fee schedule. This builds on a series of improvements where TELUS has also eliminated carrier 911 and system access fees on all its Clear and Simple rate plans; reduced bill shock with Flex Data Plans, Data Notifications and travel roaming packages; added Caller ID and Voicemail as standard on all TELUS rate plans; simplified device pricing with Anytime Upgrades; and revolutionized mobility contracts by introducing a Device Balance instead of a contract termination fee. Plus starting April 17, TELUS customers can get a one-to-one or group learning session at select TELUS stores in Saskatchewan to learn how to get the most out of their new device.

TELUS is committed to the community in Saskatchewan and every customer helps us give where we live. When customers activate a new smartphone with TELUS, good things happen. For every new smartphone activated on the TELUS network by August 7, 2013, we will give $25 to the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, up to a maximum donation of $100,000. Since the Phones for Good campaign began in 2011, TELUS has given more than $2 million to 20 local community projects across Canada.

For more information on TELUS 4G LTE or to sign up for network coverage updates, please visit: telusmobility.com/4GLTE or check out our coverage map at: www.telusmobility.com/coverage.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.9 billion of annual revenue and more than 13.1 million customer connections, including 7.7 million wireless subscribers, 3.4 million wireline network access lines, 1.4 million Internet subscribers and 678,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $300 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Fourteen TELUS Community Boards lead TELUS’ local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

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Vodafone Australia speeds up: changes - plan LTE 1800

Vodafone speeds up: changes
  • A network capable of the fastest 4G speeds in 5 capital city areas of Australia
  • 2,000 additional sites this year enhancing coverage 
  • On-shoring customer contact against industry trends 
  • Direct action against bill shock
Monday, 8 April, 2013, рress-release, via LTE-Depot. In the latest move toward earning back customers’ trust, Vodafone CEO, Bill

Morrow, today outlined further network improvements and, thanks to an industry-leading spectrum
position, announced the pending arrival of what will potentially be Australia’s fastest 4G network
across 5 capital cities.

Vodafone customers will be invited to join the company’s 4G network from June, with speeds capable
of exceeding what’s already on offer to Australian mobile consumers.

Outlining a staged roll-out to major metropolitan centres of Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, Wollongong, Newcastle and the Gold Coast, the new 4G service builds on the 3G and 3G+ network upgrades that have occurred over the past two years, showing speeds in test conditions of
downloads and streaming up to 15 times the average speed of the Vodafone 3G network of 1Mbps.

Morrow said customer feedback regarding a 4G service underpinned by a strong 3G service has guided Vodafone’s network build. “Our customers have said they want faster speeds, more coverage, and a dependable network,” he said.

“Our 3G+ and 4G technology provides them with the speed, and we will be adding nearly 2,000 additional sites this year to improve coverage for our customers where they need it most.

“We’ve picked up the pace and are sprinting to meet the current and future needs of our customers.

We are proud to be able to deliver our customers Australia’s fastest 4G network in metro areas backed by a solid 3G+ experience,” said Morrow.

Morrow detailed the raft of changes Vodafone has made to its business and its consumer offering in the past two years, articulating a vision for the future that is designed to win the hearts and minds of Australian mobile consumers.

==

Source: http://www.vodafone.com.au/doc/VodafoneSpeedsUpChanges.pdf
More about Vodafone Australia: https://sites.google.com/site/ltedepot/home/country/australia/vodafone-4g

2013-04-08

GSA Evolution to LTE report: 163 commercial networks launched; 415 operators investing in LTE

This latest update of the GSA Evolution to LTE report confirms 361 firm LTE network deployments are planned or in progress in 114 countries, including 163 networks which are commercially launched in 67 countries. MVNOs are excluded. Multi-band networks are counted as one network.

A further 54 operators in 10 additional countries are engaged in pre-commercial LTE technology pilot trials, tests or studies.

Taken together, it means that 415 operators in 124 countries are now investing in LTE.

Market outlook: GSA forecasts there will be 248 commercial LTE networks in 87 countries by end 2013.

LTE is the fastest developing mobile system technology ever and is now mainstream. The total number of LTE subscriptions reached 68.33 million in Q4 2012.

74 operators have launched commercial LTE1800 (band 3) systems in 43 countries either as a single band system, or as part of a multi-band deployment. 1800 MHz is the most widely used band for LTE deployments globally. LTE1800 serves millions of subscribers (Q4 2012 = 14.27 million) on over 45% of commercially launched LTE networks today.

The next most widely used band for LTE deployments is 2.6 GHz (50 networks i.e. over 30% of networks in service).

15 LTE TDD systems are commercially launched (within the total of 163 commercial networks) including 6 that are deployed in combined LTE FDD and TDD operations.

The Evolution to LTE report, which covers both FDD and TDD modes, is researched and published by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), and provides a concise update of the business drivers, objectives and targets for LTE - Long Term Evolution and the evolved packet system, standardized by 3GPP and now in commercial service and mainstream, including network operator commitments and deployment/launch plans, trials, the growing eco-system including device and platforms availability, spectrum requirements and developments, 3GPP standardization activities including LTE Advanced, and more.

Published April 7, 2013, by GSA, via LTE-Depot


==

Number of LTE commercial networks worldwide: https://sites.google.com/site/ltedepot/home/country 

2013-04-06

Meilenstein beim 4G/LTE-Ausbau: 159 Orte erschlossen

Press-release, via LTE Depot: Seit November 2012 surfen Swisscom-Kunden mit Hochgeschwindigkeit auf dem ersten Schweizer 4G/LTE-Netz. Seither hat Swisscom den Ausbau forciert. Aktuell verfügt gut jeder dritte Schweizer über 4G/LTE-Empfang. „Schon über 300‘000 Kunden sind auf unserem schnellen 4G/LTE-Netz unterwegs. Sie profitieren von deutlich höheren Kapazitäten, mehr Tempo und kürzeren Reaktionszeiten“, so Heinz Herren, Leiter Netz & IT bei Swisscom.

Vergangenen November ist Swisscom als erste und bisher einzige Schweizer Anbieterin mit der neuen Mobilfunkgeneration 4G/LTE in 26 Städten und Gemeinden gestartet. In nur vier Monaten hat Swisscom nun über 120 weitere Orte erschlossen und deckt damit 35 Prozent der Bevölkerung in urbanen und ländlichen Gebieten ab. Rund 300‘000 Swisscom Kunden nutzen bereits ein 4G/LTE-fähiges Smartphone und profitieren direkt von den höheren Kapazitäten, mehr Tempo und den kürzeren Reaktionszeiten des neuen Netzes. Bis Ende Jahr will Swisscom über 70 Prozent der Schweizer Bevölkerung das mobile Surfen auf dem 4G/LTE-Netz ermöglichen. Swisscom sieht vor, im Rahmen der jährlichen Budgets bis ins Jahr 2017 insgesamt rund CHF 1.5 Milliarden Schweizer Franken ins Mobilfunknetz zu investieren.

Breite Auswahl an 4G/LTE-Smartphones

Seit dem Launch des neuen Mobilfunknetzes ist das Sortiment an 4G/LTE-fähigen Smartphones bei Swisscom laufend gewachsen. Neu hinzugekommen sind das Blackberry Z10, HTC One, iPhone 5, Nokia Lumia 820, Sony Xperia Z sowie das iPad mini und iPad mit Retina Display. Das Samsung Galaxy S4 kann schon heute vorbestellt werden. Voraussichtlich Ende April halten es Kunden in ihren Händen. Fast jeder zweite Smartphone-Kunde entscheidet sich heute für ein 4G/LTE-fähiges Gerät und surft damit schneller mobil im Internet. Mit Natel infinity XL sind sogar bis zu 100 Mbit/s möglich.

==

SK Telecom Expands its LTE Auto Roaming Service

Press-release SK Telecom, 28.03.2013, via LTE Depot.
  • Scheduled to launch LTE auto roaming service in the Philippines on 1 April 2013 under partnership with Globe
  • Aims to expand LTE roaming service throughout the world after launching LTE devices that function in four different frequency bands in the second quarter of 2013
SK Telecom (NYSE:SKM) today announced that it, together with Globe Telecom, a telecommunications company in the Philippines, will begin offering LTE auto roaming service on 1 April 2013. This follows the company's previous LTE roaming service launches in Hong Kong (1 June 2012) and Singapore (1 March 2013) under partnership with CSL and SingTel, respectively.

The commercialization of LTE auto roaming service with Globe (the Philippines) and SingTel (Singapore) follows a consensus among members of the Bridge Alliance (BA) that LTE data roaming takes an important role in the future direction of next-generation roaming services, thus calling for strategic partnerships between carriers around the world. With successful LTE roaming service launches under cooperation with CSL, SingTel and Globe, SK Telecom is strongly positioning itself as the center of cooperation in the Asia Pacific region.

Moreover, SK Telecom plans to launch LTE devices that can function in four different frequency bands – i.e. 850MHz, 1.8GHz, 2.1GHz and 2.6GHz - within the second quarter of this year. These devices carry a great meaning as they mark the first Korean LTE device that can operate in 2.6GHz band, which is chosen by most mobile carriers across the world for LTE service. With these devices, customers will be able to enjoy LTE service in other countries just like they do in Korea.

Kim Young-Sup, Senior Vice President and Head of Collaboration Marketing Office at SK Telecom said, "As the first company in the world to commercialize LTE roaming, SK Telecom is committed to enhancing customer experience through seamless global LTE auto roaming. Going forward, SK Telecom will expand its strategic partnerships with mobile carriers across the globe, while also focusing on enriching the line-up of devices that function in multiple frequency bands."

2013-04-01

EE 4G live in 50 towns and cities just five months after launch

Major milestone reached as 50% of the UK population now covered by the country’s first and only 4G mobile network. By the end of June, EE is committed to launching 4G in another 30 towns and cities, bringing the total to 80. On the 4G EE network, customers are seeing average speeds of more than 16Mbps and peak speeds of 50mbp. Customers have access to a wide range of mobile handsets, tablets and dongles, including iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy SIII LTE, iPad mini, Huawei Mobile Wi-Fi, Blackberry Z10, and the newly launched HTC One, all available from EE stores now.