Rogers announced today that they have finally flipped the switch on some of their new Band 17 of its 700 MHz spectrum in select parts of Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. While Bell might have been the first to start early this month, Rogers does promise to be Canada’s largest 700 MHz network and they will continue to add other regions as quickly as possible in the upcoming months. Our source has indicated more detail about the deployment of towers and areas covered by the new 700 MHz spectrum. In Toronto – West to Yonge, East to DVP, North to Rosedale Valley Rd (just north of Bloor), South to Carlton. In Vancouver – North to Pender, South to Howe, East to Beach, West to Broughton. Also parts of Barclay to Georgia, Denman to Lost Lagoon. In Calgary – 10th Ave SW to 11th St SW, Prince’s Island Park to 1st St SW.
Rogers’ LTE network currently offers the fastest service in Canada, but the new 700 MHz spectrum will make their network even better – its bandwidth will allow better reception in basements, tunnels, elevators and buildings in general with thick concrete walls. Customers will see more bars of signal on their devices with less chance of a dropped signal. This will be a real boost in customer satisfaction and give the subscribers a much better wireless experience in places they were unable to even get a signal in the past. John Boynton, executive vice president, CMO, Rogers Communications said, “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.”
You would think that would be Rogers’ main objective, but they are also thinking about the deal they stuck up to acquire multiscreen NHL rights, which will begin in full-force next year, and Rogers wants their customers to be able to stream NHL highlights with minimal issues – especially deep in those ‘man caves.’ Rogers site studies that support the demand for video streaming on smartphones and tablets is growing by over 700-percent over the past three years. It is amazing, but studies are suggesting that three out of four Canadians do stream video to their devices and one out of five does it on a daily basis. Sports tops out the list, but they also love YouTube videos as well. So now, Rogers customers have more of an option where and when to view their sports, YouTube videos, or even make and receive calls, send text messages and emails from office buildings or from their basements. As the 2014/2015 Hockey season gets underway, Rogers will continue to roll out more 700 MHz spectrum in more cities for their subscriber’s enjoyment.
If you are wondering if your device will work on this new spectrum, check to make sure that your device supports Band 17 – if it does then you need do nothing else. Rogers claims “the majority of LTE devices that Rogers customers use can take advantage of the 700 MHz spectrum that’s live today.”
Please let us know on our Google+ Page if you are able to take advantage of this new spectrum and if you have noticed a difference in your signal strength…as always, we would love to hear from you.