Rogers today committed itself to launching its LTE network this year in Canada. It didn’t have the exact timing, device mix or locations. As a GSM carrier, it’s unlikely to use the same phones as Verizon since those still need CDMA for voice. This sets them apart from Bell, Telus and Wind Mobile who have promised LTE of their own but haven’t given any type of schedules at the of this post.
Rogers refused to be drawn into applying the 4G badge to services that are technically advanced 3G services, a marketing trick started by T-Mobile USA and perpetuated by AT&T out of pressure. MetroPCS and Verizon are the only two US carriers so far to have LTE and get closer to what was widely considered ‘real’ 4G.
“When Rogers says 4G, we mean LTE,” Rogers’ Keith McArthur said.
The International Telecommunications Union initially reserved the 4G label for LTE-Advanced and WiMAX 2, services with hundreds of megabits per second that won’t be in significant use until 2014 or later. It later relented and began sanctioning the use of the term for any wide-area wireless service that provided a major leap over regular 3G, such as HSPA+ or the initial version of LTE.
