KDDI Announced Its LTE Network Download Speed Upgrade Up To 100Mbps

Japanese telecoms operator KDDI (au) has announced the upgrade of its LTE network to a maximum download speed of 100Mbps.

This month, Japan’s fourth-largest island Shikoku will be the first to upgrade, subsequently expanding to offer nationwide coverage from the third quarter onwards. KDDI’s subsidiary Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company is also included in the rollout.

Data show that, KDDI’s LTE-based services were introduced in September 2012 to coincide with the launch of the new iPhone 5 handset. KDDI is using both 800MHZ and 2100MHz bands for its LTE network.
The firm has come in for criticism, however, after failing to live up to its initial promises for 4G coverage. Although advertising at the time of LTE launch has forecast 96% population coverage for 75Mbps iPhone 5 (2100MHz/700MHz CDMA / LTE model) devices at the end of March 2013, at that data, it was found by Japan’s Consumer Affairs that the actual coverage rate is only 14%.
It transpired that the stated plans for expansion to 96% applied only to Android LTE smartphones (using KDDI’s 800MHz/1500MHz frequencies). In a new update on LTE coverage, KDDI has confirmed that by the start of June 2013 its 800MHz band 4G network (offering ‘mainly’ 75Mbps top speeds) covered 97% of the population; LTE in the 2100MHz band by that date offered 71% of the population top speeds ‘mainly’ reaching 37.5Mbps, while a 2100MHz network peak speed of 75Mbps was available to 20% of the population.
Published by FiberStore, industry news – www.fs.com
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