Bell announced its LTE Advanced (LTE-A) wireless network has delivered data speeds of a Gigabit per second (Gbps) in recent deployment testing, another network first for Canada’s largest communications company.
“Canada’s Best National Network keeps getting better as Bell’s commitment to broadband investment and innovation drives LTE speeds and coverage to unprecedented levels,” said Stephen Howe, Bell’s Chief Technology Officer. “With theoretical speeds as high as 1.5 Gbps, Bell’s enhanced LTE-A network will be ready as our smartphone partners launch their new generation of Gigabit-capable devices.”
Bell successfully tested Gigabit LTE-A in Mississauga, Ontario and will roll out its enhanced network to locations throughout the country in 2018 as smartphones that support these advanced speeds come to market.
In 2017, Bell announced that it had reached 99% coverage of the Canadian population with broadband LTE mobile service, and also became the first carrier in North America to deliver Quad Band LTE-A theoretical speeds of up to 750 Megabits per second.
To boost LTE-A speeds to the Gigabit level, Bell is employing a combination of carrier aggregation and 4X4 MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology to increase spectrum efficiency and multiply capacity. Bell will also support Licensed Assisted Access (LAA) technology to aggregate unlicensed 5 GHz spectrum with LTE in licensed bands to provide higher transfer speeds.
In 2016, Bell announced Canada’s first trials of 5G (5th generation) mobile technology in collaboration with Nokia and followed with further successful trials with Huawei in 2017. Bell is a member of the Next Generation Mobile Networks consortium, the global body defining requirements for the international 5G ecosystem.