For the uninitiated who haven't been following my
blog for the past few days, Digicel just launched their 4G LTE Netwotk called
Digicel LTE as reported in my blog article entitled “US$50
million 60Mbps Digicel LTE Network as Caricel and FLOW prep for August 2016
Launch”.
Caricel, had they launched, would have become the
first truly 4G Network in Jamaica as pointed out in the article “Caricel
takes lead in race to bring 4G LTE to Jamaica”, published Sunday, June 05,
2016 by Balford Henry, The Jamaica
Observer.
LTE is the latest iteration of 4G (4th
Generation) Mobile Internet service that can deliver speeds faster than fixed
line Broadband, such as Cable Broadband. So when is Caricel and FLOW Jamaica set to
launch 4G LTE?
Caricel's
4G LTE Network in August 2016 - Portmore and Kingston and Jamaica in 5 Years
Caricel's 4G LTE Network, the New Kid on the block,
is set to launch in August 2016 initially targeting Portmore and Kingston with
an initial investment of US$100 million as noted in my blog article
entitled “How
Caricel's US$100 million 4G LTE using White Space and Chinese Investors come
August 2016”.
Their Network Core is being installed with the help
of Telecom Contractors Alepo and Comtech Telecommunications as noted in my blog article
entitled “How
Caricel's 4G LTE Network is being built by Alepo and Comtech Telecommunications
Partnership”.
Word on the street, however, is that the Network
infrastructure is being built by Huawei. Huawei may have also granted Symbiote
Investments Limited a soft loan to build their 4G LTE Network as reported in my
blog article
entitled “How
JA$6.2 billion Symbiote Investments Limited Spectrum may be Chinese-Jamaican
Telecom Provider”.
Even more interesting, some of my confidential
sources have told me that Symbiote Investments Limited may be connected to a
previous Telecom Provider named Gotel that was being investigated back in 2008
for bribing OUR (Office of Utilities Regulations) officials as mentioned in the
article “OUR
launches probe into Gotel allegations”, published Wed April 16, 2008, RJR News Online.
Caricel is also using White Space Spectrum instead
of the 700MHz spectrum that Digicel is using for their 4G LTE Network, with
speeds potentially as high as 70 Mbps as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “How Chinese White Space Network
possible in Jamaica by Independence Day”.
Digicel has effectively beaten them, launching ahead
of time by having Ericsson upgrade their HSPA+ Network to 4G LTE, having had
two (2) whole years to plan to quote Digicel CEO David Butler: “Rolling out a
LTE Network is something that happens over a period of time. To them, the best
of luck, but our focus is on our two million customers”.
Also, their announcement comes a few days after the
launch of Huawei’s ICT Innovation Exhibition 2016 on Tuesday June 7th
2016 and lasting until Thursday June 9th 2016 as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “Huawei’s
ICT Innovation Exhibition 2016 set for Telecom and Enterprise Services”.
Digicel may have been first, but now that they’re
out in the open, they have a View to a Kill come Independence Day, James Bond
Style.
FLOW
Jamaica’s VDSL and LTE - Double Launch on Emancipation or Independence Day
Clearly, Digicel was under pressure to launch, as
they've even been pressured to go 4G LTE in Guyana as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “Digicel
and GTT 80 Mbps 4G LTE in Guyana hints at August 2016 Launch in Jamaica”.
Digicel eventually opted to launch their Branded
"4G" or HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access) as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “Digicel
Guyana’s 4G launched as Bermuda and Jamaica may still get 4G LTE”.
Liberty Global, now the owners of FLOW Jamaica, in
the meantime, have been slowly being doing upgrade work in the St. Ann area as
well as on the North and South Coast with Ericsson.
They're upgrading their ADSL (Asynchronous Digital
Subscriber Line) Network to a VDSL (Vectoring Digital Subscriber Line) and
possible a FTTH (Fiber to the Home) Network to rival Digicel Play as explained
in my Geezam blog article entitled “How FLOW’s 70 Mbps VDSL in St. Ann
means FTTH, 4G LTE on North, South Coast”.
They're yet to announce any plans to launch their 4G
LTE Network. Their intended Network, also being worked on since 2014, is
supposed to use the 1700 MHz and the 2100 Mhz band, more popular known as AWS
(Advanced Wireless Services) as noted in my blog article
entitled “Why
FLOW Jamaica's 4G LTE Upgrade to counter Digicel Play needs islandwide LTE,
VDSL and DOCSIS 3.1”.
Because of the higher frequencies, it'll have a
higher bandwidth but will be more suitable for Modems and CPE (Customer
Premesis Equiptment). Still the higher bandwidth means the delivery of maximum
theoretical speeds as high as 150 Mbps and more advanced services, as the name
AWS suggests.
This can be anything from VoLTE (Voice over LTE) to
Streaming audio and 4K Video as noted in my blog article
entitled “@LIMEJamaica's
downpayment on High-Bandwidth AWS Spectrum - How FLOW rebranding and Jamaican
Call Center means 4G LTE coming in December 2015”.
FLOW Jamaica, most likely, will be launching with
about Modems, CPE and smartphones capable of using 4G LTE on the 1700 MHz and
2100 MHz band, possibly reserving this for their Business Clients.
Folks, the Summer of 2016 and Christmas 2016 is
looking very prosperous as Digicel, Caricel and FLOW Jamaica get their 4G LTE Networks
in Gear.
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