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Rogers boosting its LTE coverage in Canada, will cover 10 new cities by October 1st
We're sure it's just coincidence, but on the same day a certain new LTE phone was revealed, Rogers announced the expansion of its 4G network in Canada. By October 1st, the carrier will have switched on its high-speed network in Kingston, Edmonton, Quebec City, Oakville, Burlington, London, Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Barrie. That's not quite the end of it either, as the plan is to feed 60 percent of the country's inhabitants the same 4G nourishment by the end of the year, and even more in 2013. With so many new LTE-capable devices soon finding their way into the hands of data-hungry Canadians, all that remains is the important decision of choosing your latest pocket-filler.
Sprint confirms its HD Voice is incompatible with the iPhone 5
The new, lighter iPhone 5 has a bigger screen, punchier processor, LTE and dual-band WiFi, but if you plan to pick one up for Sprint's network, you can't have it all. Carrier spokesperson Michelle Leff Mermelstein told Phone Scoop that its version of HD Voice will not work on Apple's new wünderphone. While most carriers use WCDMA networks to achieve the greater definition, Sprint uses CDMA 1X Advanced, which unfortunately isn't compatible with the handset. Knowing the feature will be missing prior to launch isn't ideal, but when you're calling your friends to boast about that day-one purchase, a slight drop in clarity isn't likely to kill your geek buzz.
Lightsquared signs deal with AirTouch, creates its first MVNO
LightSquared added another name to its list of allies yesterday, with a wholesale agreement allowing AirTouch products to dabble in the world of wireless. The phone manufacturer, which makes telecom devices that work with voice, data and video, looks set to become the first newly created MVNO to use LightSquared's 4G goodness. Of course, all this is assuming that the nascent network actually gets off the ground. But now that it's supposedly solved that pesky GPS interference problem, what could possibly stop it?
US Cellular adds HTC Desire and BlackBerry Bold in August, teases BlackBerry 9670 for 'later this year'
We were extremely close to cramping our sarcasm muscle with all the faux excitement we had to drum up for the 3.2-inch Acclaim, but US Cellular has now come back with word that it'll soon count HTC's Desire among its roster of phones. The Desire, which is mooted to be coming to other smaller carriers like Cellular South, will debut in August alongside the BlackBerry Bold. We're more excited, however, to find US Cellular promising it'll offer "a BlackBerry flip smartphone with a full QWERTY keyboard" later this year. That sounds like RIM's slightly unorthodox 9670 to us, and will probably form the second part of the BB maker's pledged introduction of two new handsets. US Cellular's 2010 device lineup refresh will be completed with a pair more Androids, courtesy of LG and Samsung. The former is said to have a "large touch screen and slide-out, ergonomically-designed QWERTY keyboard," while the latter is only described as "highly-anticipated." Not too shabby.
Mobilicity gets the green light from CRTC, looks to launch in Toronto soon
Right on cue, the artist formerly known as DAVE Wireless has been given approval to begin operations in Canada. Just as we heard earlier in the year, Mobilicity is looking to add some much-needed competition in the mobile operator space up north, and as predicted, the CRTC has given the initial stamp of approval needed for it to move forward with business operations. The company has to make a few minor changes up the ladder in order to appease the Canadian overlords that regulate this stuff, but the outfit's top brass have stated that they have "no issues" whatsoever in complying. If all goes well, the carrier plans to start up service in Toronto before the summer swings in, with Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa to get covered later in the year. Here's hoping those blasted three-year contracts vanish for good, eh? [Thanks, Adam]
