A1 Telekom Austria is now offering LTE coverage to about one-third of the Austrians, much earlier than envisaged in the original expansion targets. Operator has announced that A1 LTE has already reached to one in three Austrians.
U.S. mobile service provider Sprint has launched 4G LTE network in 11 new cities/counties in Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. With today’s expansion, Sprint now offers LTE service in 43 markets.
Orange France has launched 4G LTE services for corporate customers and will introduce LTE for consumers from February 2013. Operator has now switched on LTE in four cities - Marseille, Lyon, Nantes and Lille. Orange had started a LTE pilot in Marseille in June earlier this year.
Canada's SaskTel has started testing its 4G LTE wireless network ahead of commercial launch. A technical trial with select employees will take place immediately with commercial availability scheduled for Regina and Saskatoon, and surrounding communities, beginning early February 2013.
South Africa’s telecom service provider, Vodacom has selected Nokia Siemens Networks’ Liquid Core to enable circuit switched fall-back (CSFB) functionality in its LTE network. This functionality allows LTE users to make and receive voice calls using either the GSM or 3G network while retaining the benefit of data services via LTE.
Zain Kuwait has announced the launch of its 4G LTE network nationwide. Operator's Wiyana Connect 4G LTE plan is available for compatible mobile phones, tablets, routers, hotspots and dongles in 1800 MHz band.
COSMOTE, mobile network operator in Greece, has opened commercial 4G LTE mobile broadband network in Athens and Thessaloniki. Company has also started offering data plans through 4G Tablets and USB Sticks.
ZTE has announced the launch of their Energy Saving Solution to help operators globally reduce energy consumption in their LTE networks. According to test results, a single site employing this solution can save up to 40% in power consumption. Company plans to increase resources for LTE development and green technologies.
Irish telecom regulator ComReg has announced the results of its multi-band spectrum auction. This auction awarded spectrum rights in the former GSM-only bands (900 MHz and 1800 MHz) and in the 800 MHz band (‘Digital Dividend’). The licenses enable the operators to start 4G LTE services beginning 2013.
NTT DOCOMO has developed a dual-mode small-cell base station, or femtocell, supporting 3G (W-CDMA) and LTE simultaneously. The dual-mode femtocell will be commercially launched from December and offers for improved service coverage in indoor locations such as offices, shops and homes.