LTE-Advanced deployments – Tracking the fastest wireless networks globally

In an earlier article written on this site in May 2013 (LTE Advanced – Key features and differentiators), I had discussed technical details of LTE-A. Sometimes called 4.5G, the technology was in testing stages at that time. Commercial deployment took off in different parts of the world about an year ago. The promise of LTE-Advanced is live and real as we head into 2015. Let us look at 10 operators that have taken the lead on LTE-A. For the sake of variety, only one operator has been taken from a particular country. Their region of operation, spectrum bands and top download speeds under ideal conditions are also listed. Only a few devices support LTE-A technology so far although many more are in the offing. If a device supporting LTE-A is available on a particular network, that would be included in this post too. Readers could refer to the earlier article on this blog for an explanation of technical terminologies.

SK Telecom, South Korea – Korean operators maintained their global telecom lead when SK Telecom unveiled LTE-A services in Seoul in June 2013. Its plan is to cover the whole country by the beginning of next year. SK Telecom used the Samsung Galaxy S5 to show speeds of 225 Mbps on the LTE-A network by combining 20 MHz spectrum from 800 MHz and 10 MHz spectrum from 1800 MHz band. Advanced techniques like Coordinated Multi Point (CoMP) transmission and Enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (eICIC) are also being put to use by the telco. Evolving to combine more bands, SK Telecom has announced the capability to aggregate total 40 MHz of bandwidth from 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz, thus making download speeds of up to 300 Mbps a reality. Data rate as high as 450 Mbps was also tested recently by the operator.

MegaFon, Russia – During the Sochi Winter Olympics in February this year, MegaFon demonstrated its LTE-Advanced network clocking download speeds near 300 Mbps. The deployment was done in 2600 MHz by using 20 MHz of MegaFon’s and 20 MHz of its subsidiary Scartel’s spectrum. First commercially launched in Moscow, LTE-A was recently deployed in St. Petersburg with more Russian cities expected to be covered soon. Samsung Galaxy Note Edge was MegaFon’s first device for LTE-Advanced.

STC, Saudi Arabia – STC is one of the biggest service providers’ in the Middle-East. It launched LTE-Advanced in the kingdom in February 2014. The network is unique in the sense that it combines two 20 MHz LTE-TDD airwaves in the 2300 MHz band to achieve a speed of 225 Mbps. Recently, the carrier also demonstrated TDD-FDD carrier aggregation using 1800 MHz and 2300 MHz spectrum. Not much information is available about the current coverage or device support for STC’s network.

AT&T, USA – In March this year, Ma Bell declared the launch of LTE-Advanced in Chicago. AT&T claims speeds of up to 110 Mbps by aggregating a total of 15 MHz bandwidth from its 700 MHz and 2100 MHz AWS band. Rumors are that New York, San Francisco, Dallas and Washington DC are all ready for LTE-A. But consumers’ ability to experience such speeds is limited by device availability. AT&T’s Unite hotspot is the only device that supports LTE-A but much more action is expected on the phone front next year.

SingTel, Singapore – SingTel first showed off its LTE-A network in May this year. Commercial launch followed in summer and more than half of island has been covered already. Nationwide coverage is expected by next spring. SingTel claims top data rate of 300 Mbps. The operator has combined 20 MHz of bandwidth each from 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz bands. Huawei E5786 MiFi hotspot was the first compatible device. Subsequently, Samsung delivered the Galaxy S5 4G+ version of their flagship phone that took full advantage of SingTel’s fastest data speeds.

Swisscom, Switzerland – Swisscom rolled out LTE-Advanced in June this year starting from Berne and Lausanne stations. It was extended to cover the whole city of Berne and a few other urban areas in July. LTE-A will also be available in Zurich, Geneva and Lucerne soon. Like other carriers, Swisscom too went for carrier aggregation with 40 MHz total bandwidth from 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz bands. This resulted in speeds of about 300 Mbps. The telco pushed the limits further achieving data rates of 450 Mbps by combining 3 bands. It also declared that such superfast networks would be available in dense areas of this beautiful country by the end of next year. Compatible devices are also expected to be launched around that time only.

Bouygues Telecom, France – The third largest French mobile operator announced LTE-A or 4G+ services in June 2014. Lyon, Bordeaux and many other cities were covered by the end of summer. Speeds up to 220 Mbps have been achieved by Bouygues. Spectrum in 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz was aggregated for the LTE-Advanced network. The operator has also tested speeds of 300 Mbps by adding spectrum from 800 MHz to the above two bands for a total bandwidth of 45 MHz. Huawei’s 4G+ gateway and Bbox Nomad 4G+ hotspot are the first devices that support LTE-A on Bouygues’ network.

Vodafone, Spain – In October this year, Vodafone announced the deployment of LTE-Advanced in the Spanish cities of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. More cities are coming soon. By combining 20 MHz spectrum each from 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz, the operator was able to tout speeds of around 300 Mbps. Vodafone also plans to add the 800 MHz and 2600 MHz TDD spectrum to the above mix for LTE-A that could boost the data speed to 500 Mbps. Special version of Samsung Galaxy S5 will take advantage of Vodafone Spain’s superfast network.

Rogers Wireless, Canada – Canada’s largest carrier, Rogers declared the launch of its LTE-Advanced network with theoretical speeds of 150 Mbps couple of months ago. The service provider combined airwaves from its 700 MHz and 2100 MHz AWS holdings. Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and many other cities were included in the launch. The latest iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 with software updates will work on Rogers’ LTE-A network.

EE, United Kingdom – Britain’s EE went live with its LTE-Advanced network in October in the Central London area. Early next year, this 4G+ service will be extended to whole of London city apart from Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. Peak speeds of 300 Mbps have been delivered by aggregating 20 MHz spectrum each from 1800 MHz and 2600 MHz bands. Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Samsung Galaxy Alpha will be compatible with the LTE-A network on EE.

Few other operators around the world that are deploying LTE-Advanced are Sprint USA, Vodafone Netherlands, Ooredoo Qatar, Telecom Italia and CSL Hong Kong. Carrier Aggregation still remains the most deployed feature of LTE-A. Higher order MIMO, eICIC and CoMP are expected over the next year or so. Deutsche Telekom in Germany demonstrated that carrier aggregation along with 4×4 MIMO can achieve speeds nearing 600 Mbps. Verizon Wireless in US plans to launch multi-feature LTE-Advanced in 2015. Not only will it aggregate 10 MHz airwaves from 700 MHz band with 20 MHz airwaves from AWS band, it will also deploy 4×4 MIMO and eICIC for an even faster LTE-A network. Now there is the argument that the telcos are jumping ahead of themselves when it comes to higher data rates. Do we need them and what about the supporting devices? However, there is always a need for speed and phones will arrive with time. Another interesting observation here is that Europe seems to be catching up and in some ways surpassing the LTE leader USA when it comes to LTE-Advanced. Asia is running along with Europe in terms of wireless data speeds. The wireless communications space keeps on getting more and more competitive. There is no scope for complacency or inertia.