Where in the World Is LTE?
To wrap up what has been an eventful year for next-generation mobile broadband technology Long Term Evolution (LTE), Light Reading Mobile has compiled a list of the world's commercial LTE services.
It's quite short.
Verizon Wireless and Telia Company aren't the only names on the list, however, although you would be forgiven for thinking that, considering how much attention these operators' get for their 4G (or rather, FauxG?) moves. (See Happy Birthday, LTE! .)
We count nine commercial LTE services worldwide, based on our criteria. To be included on the list, it had to be clear that a potential customer could go to an operator's shop or Website and buy a dongle (or handset in case of MetroPCS Inc. (NYSE: PCS)) and sign up to start using the services. We did not include pilot networks or user trials, where consumers or business customers may be able to use an LTE service, but do not pay for it. (See LTE Beckons in Uzbekistan .)
So here's where LTE is commercially available now at the end of 2010:
Table 1: Commercial LTE Services
As always, we welcome feedback. If you know of a commercial service that we missed here, please let us know on the message board.
For a refresher on when and now these operators launched LTE services, please see these stories:
— Michelle Donegan, European Editor, Light Reading Mobile
It's quite short.
Verizon Wireless and Telia Company aren't the only names on the list, however, although you would be forgiven for thinking that, considering how much attention these operators' get for their 4G (or rather, FauxG?) moves. (See Happy Birthday, LTE! .)
We count nine commercial LTE services worldwide, based on our criteria. To be included on the list, it had to be clear that a potential customer could go to an operator's shop or Website and buy a dongle (or handset in case of MetroPCS Inc. (NYSE: PCS)) and sign up to start using the services. We did not include pilot networks or user trials, where consumers or business customers may be able to use an LTE service, but do not pay for it. (See LTE Beckons in Uzbekistan .)
So here's where LTE is commercially available now at the end of 2010:
Table 1: Commercial LTE Services
| Operator | Where | Monthly Price | Equipment suppliers |
| NTT Docomo* | Japan | �1,000 (US$12) for 3 GB or �7,980 ($95) for 5 GB | Fujitsu, Ericsson, NEC, NSN |
| MetroPCS | 9 U.S. cities | $55 | Ericsson, Samsung |
| Telekom Austria | Vienna, Austria | �90 ($120) for 30GB, plus �340 ($453) for USB stick | Not available |
| TeliaSonera | Denmark | 399 Danish kroner ($71) | Ericsson, NSN |
| TeliaSonera | Finland | �46 ($61) | Ericsson, NSN (for initial rollout) |
| TeliaSonera | Norway | 699 Norwegian kronor ($118) | Ericsson, NSN |
| TeliaSonera | Sweden | 599 Swedish kronor ($88) for 10Mbit/s-80Mbit/s LTE, 3G, WiFi, and 30GB of data | Ericsson, Huawei, NSN |
| Verizon | 38 US cities | $50 for 5GB or $80 for 10GB | Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, NSN (for IMS) |
| Vodafone Germany | rural Germany | �69.99�($94) per month for up to 50Mbit/s downlink, 10Mbit/s uplink, and 30GB of data | Ericsson, Huawei |
| * Service starts on December 24, 2010 | |||
As always, we welcome feedback. If you know of a commercial service that we missed here, please let us know on the message board.
For a refresher on when and now these operators launched LTE services, please see these stories:
- TeliaSonera First to Go Live With LTE
- Vodafone Beats Deutsche Telekom to LTE Launch
- Verizon Confirms December LTE Launch
- MetroPCS Beats Verizon to LTE in Sin City
- NTT Docomo Sets LTE Date
— Michelle Donegan, European Editor, Light Reading Mobile
