If you are a Telus (TSX:T) customer who has been waiting for LTE to roll out beyond Vancouver's core before upgrading your smartphone or taking a gamble on RIM's new 4G BlackBerry PlayBook, your wait is over
Telus has expanded its 4G long-term evolution (LTE) network to the greater Vancouver area, including Burnaby, New Westminster, West Vancouver and South Delta. Richmond and Surrey will have to wait a little longer for LTE.
By the end of the year, however, Telus plans to serve 90% of B.C.'s population with LTE, which is roughly four times faster than the existing cellular network.
The expansion of LTE is part of $3 billion Telus is investing in B.C. over the next three years.
Rogers customers in Vancouver also have access to LTE. Rogers was the first telecom to roll out LTE in Vancouver. Bell (TSX:BCE) also now has LTE in the Vancouver area.
Not all smartphones or tablets will work on the 4G LTE network. Smartphones and tablets that do include the Samsung Galaxy S 3, HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy Note, Huawei E397, and RIM's new Playbook.
If you own Apple products, however, you will have to wait until the company decides to produce LTE-capable iPhones and iPads.
LTE allows for greater download speeds that give the kind of bandwidth needed to play video and watch video.
LTE subscribers will be able to watch movies on the go, for example, using Optik on the go. The app allows Telus Optik TV subscribers to watch movies while camping, for example, on smartphones and tablets.
"With an LTE device our customers can enjoy the fastest wireless technology available in the world today," Mike Black, Telus vice-president of customer solutions delivery said in a press release.
"We are continuing to expand this new technology, community by community, so that by the end of the year nearly 90 per cent of B.C. residents are expected to have access. It's an ambitious undertaking."
