It’s good to read about new LTE networks being rolled out almost on a weekly basis. The latest news comes from Kazakhstan where VimpelCom launched a live LTE pilot at 700MHz, calling it “the first live 700MHz LTE market pilot in post-Soviet territory.”
The new network will cover the central districts of Amalty, which is the business capital of the country.
The carrier has been testing LTE in Kazakhstan since spring 2010 in collaboration with Alcatel-Lucent. In a joint statement, the two companies talked up the advantages of rolling out LTE at 700MHz, which they said would enable the operator to “ensure the maximum coverage more efficiently.”
Among the new services that will be launched, VimpelCom mentioned high-definition video, music and multiplayer video gaming.
Like Uzbekistan is for MTS and TeliaSonera, Kazakhstan is for VimpelCom — a test bed for LTE with the idea to bring the technology and roll-out networks in other parts of the world afterwards. The good thing is that even the developing markets aren’t forgotten in this equation…
[Via: MobileBusinessBriefing]