Rogers gets going on 700 MHz deployment

Rogers Communications Inc. said Thursday it has deployed its new 700 MHz spectrum in parts of Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Rogers said the launch of the spectrum means customers in these locations will have an easier time accessing the Internet and streaming video in spots that have typically had bad reception, such as elevators, basements and buildings with thick concrete walls. The company has been emphasizing the video experience that the 20-year spectrum licenses, which it spent $3.29 billion on, will allow it to offer. It did so when the auction results were announced Feb. 19 and, more recently, when it linked the spectrum to benefits that can be derived from its $5.2-billion, 12-year contract with the National Hockey League for national rights to game broadcasts, starting next season. “With our beachfront spectrum, we'll deliver the ultimate mobile video experience to our customers in even more places where they couldn't access LTE before," John Boynton, Rogers chief marketing officer, said in Thursday’s release. Rogers cited data from Ooyala Inc. that shows video consumption on tablets and smartphones has grown more than 700 per cent in the last three years. Rogers spent the majority of the $5.27 billion total raised in the 700 MHz auction, largely with purchases of side-by-side A and B blocks in all major regions. “By having them beside each other, you get a multiplied impact of the total capacity and the number of customers we can support and the amount of information that we can push through it,” Rogers' chief technology officer Bob Berner told The Wire Report last month. Rogers spokeswoman Michelle Kelly said in an email Thursday that the company “will continue to roll out 700 MHz across the country in both urban and rural communities so our customers can take full advantage of the spectrum’s benefits, including more consistent LTE coverage in more places like underground garages and elevators.” Rogers said in its release Thursday that it is the first carrier to deploy service on 700 MHz spectrum in the cities mentioned. However, an April 3 article on the website MobileSyrup said BCE Inc. would be the first carrier overall to launch on 700 MHz that week, with coverage in Hamilton. Bell spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis said in an email Thursday that immediate plans for using the new spectrum include deploying it over the next two months in smaller towns and remote communities in Ontario, Quebec, the Atlantic provinces and northern territories. The goal, she said, is to have more than 98 per cent of the Canadian population covered by LTE service. Officials from Telus Corp. and Quebecor Inc. did not return requests for comment Thursday about their plans for 700 MHz spectrum. — With reporting by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Rogers gets going on 700 MHz deployment

News | April 17, 2014

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Rogers gets going on 700 MHz deployment

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