Bell is slowly rolling out its LTE Advanced network, which we took an extensive look at during our peek into the belly of the beast earlier this year.
The company says that its maximum download speeds of 220Mbps are some of the fastest in the world, and use a combination of high-capacity Band 7 (2600Mhz) spectrum and carrier aggregation between Band 4 (AWS) and Band 2 (PCS) to reach those speeds.
Like Rogers did with its own LTE-Advanced launch, Bell is taking a piecemeal approach to the new standard, rolling out in the GTA, London and select Maritime cities like Fredericton, Sydney, Charlottetown and Halifax before touching other parts of Canada.
Bell says that only a few recent Android phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 edge, Note Edge and HTC One M9 support the new technology, but most upcoming products should support LTE Advanced as Qualcomm’s most recent baseband chips lower in cost and roll out to other OEMs.
The company also indicated that it plans to expand LTE coverage in the greater North Bay area in the near future.
Bell said in its most recent earnings report that as of March 31st it covers 91% of the Canadian population with LTE, and plans to expand that to 98% by the end of 2015.
Recently, a Toronto-based Bell customer showcased the theoretical top speeds on a Galaxy S6, displaying results of over 220Mbps.
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