MTS has brought faster speeds to a few Manitobans today. The regional carrier has flipped the switch on in both Winnipeg and Brandon, but states their coverage will expand in 2013 to include “more communities across Manitoba.” MTS says “peak speeds under optimal conditions” will garner upward of 75 Mbps download, and upload speeds of 25 Mbps – realistically you’ll score around 25 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up.
As for devices, there are currently two of them. First is the Sony Xperia ion. A powerful LTE device that runs OS 2.3 Gingerbread and is promised an upgrade to OS 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich “soon.” The ion has been priced at $79.99 on a 3-year and ranges to $599.99 outright (check out our review here). Next, there’s the Huawei E397 internet stick.
With MTS’ LTE network now live… expect other carriers to open up service.
Update: Clearly there is some communication issues happening. MTS has posted LTE news on their site as the network has gone live, but we understand that the network is only in beta testing still. The devices have launched though and are available. We’ve reached out to MTS for clarification.
Update #2: We’ve heard back from MTS. Their LTE network is live. Here’s their official statement:
“MTS’s 4G LTE Wireless Network is live. We commercially launched our 4G LTE wireless service in Winnipeg and Brandon on August 28, 2012. We also introduced two new LTE-enabled devices – the Sony Xperia ion Smartphone and the Huawei E397 Wireless Internet Stick – which will work on our 4G LTE service where 4G LTE is available (Winnipeg and Brandon) and elsewhere in Manitoba on our existing 4G (HSPA+) network.”
Source: MTS
(Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)
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