Get ready Ottawa: Your LTE network is coming this summer

By: RogersStacey

June 8th, 2011 a 9:31am

We’re excited to announce that Ottawa is the first city in Canada to experience Rogers Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. If you live or work in Ottawa, this means you can be among the first in the world to experience the gold standard of wireless technology.

And, on top of that, we’re ready to take reservations now for the first LTE enabled device with commercial deployment this summer: the LTE Rocket™ stick.

For Rogers customers in the Ottawa area, you can now reserve your LTE Rocket stick through our Rogers Reservation System. This system allows you to secure a place “in line” for the device without having to visit a store or call us. All you have to do is login to your MyRogers account, select the wireless number you wish to make your reservation with, then click the Device Reservation button and follow the instructions. You’ll receive regular email notifications telling you your place in line and an email with courier company tracking details when the device ships. The device will be delivered to the participating store that you selected when they become available later this summer. If you don’t see the Device Reservation button on your portal, click in the link provided on rogers.com/LTERocketstick —> Reserve it Now —> “I don’t see the Device Reservation in my self-serve portal.” To learn more about the Rogers Reservation System, go to http://www.rogers.com/rogersreservations

Back in April, we announced that Rogers will launch its LTE network this year in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver, with an additional 21 markets by the end of 2012.

If you live or work outside of Ottawa, sign up at IwantmyLTE.ca to be notified when LTE is coming to your area. You’ll also get updates on LTE roll-out and what LTE means for you as a Rogers customer.

Ottawa residents: How will LTE make your summer faster?

Stacey Fowler is a regular contributor to RedBoard

Rating: 3.5/5 (13 votes cast)

Categories:

Network, news, Wireless

Tags:

Long Term Evolution, LTE, LTE Rocketstick, Network, Ottawa, Rogers LTE, Rogers Reservation System, Sierra Rocket Stick

27 Comments

Adam says: June 8th, 2011 a 9:45am

Any word on LTE data pricing?
- RogersStacey says: June 8th, 2011 a 11:57am
  
  Hi Adam,
  
  Just in case you didn’t see my reply to another user who asked something similar, I wanted to reply to your note to let you know that we don’t have details to share regarding data pricing at this time.
  
  Thanks Adam,
  -RogersStacey
  - Adam says: June 8th, 2011 a 1:50pm
    
    Thanks Stacey! :)
    - RogersStacey says: June 9th, 2011 a 9:06am
      
      No problem Adam!
john G says: June 8th, 2011 a 10:27am

Are people that dumb? Who would order this stick when we have NO IDEA of what the plans and pricing are? Come on Rogers, stop talking just to hear yourself speak and let people know the details so they can make an informed choice.
- Neil says: June 9th, 2011 a 1:38pm
  
  the option is for a reservation. if you don’t like the plan when it gets announced, cancel the reservation
Ravi Shanghavi says: June 8th, 2011 a 10:31am

-Will LTE be available to Fido Subscribers as well.
-Will new SIM cards be required
-What network band is the Rogers LTE network

Cheers,
Ravi Shanghavi, Ottawa
- RogersStacey says: June 8th, 2011 a 11:25am
  
  Hi Ravi, to answer your questions:
  
  –We are planning to launch LTE devices first on the Rogers brand, and the Rogers Reservation System is currently for Rogers customers.
  
  –Not sure at this point re: SIM cards
  
  –We’re initially deploying at 1.7/2.1, our AWS spectrum, but intend to evolve the deployment to a multiband approach.
  
  Cheers Ravi,
  -RogersStacey
  - Ravi Shanghavi says: June 8th, 2011 a 3:06pm
    
    Thanks for your reply Stacey, what other bands would be in the multiband envelope.
    - Rogers_Chris says: June 9th, 2011 a 4:00pm
      
      Hi Ravi,
      
      We’ll be using future bands as they become available for us to use. We’ll have specifics to share in the future.
- RogersStacey says: June 8th, 2011 a 12:12pm
  
  Ravi – just wanted to let you know re: SIM cards that LTE Rocket sticks will ship with LTE-ready SIM cards. Cheers, -RogersStacey
Shammy says: June 8th, 2011 a 10:37am

Any costing information?
- RogersStacey says: June 8th, 2011 a 10:56am
  
  Hi Shammy,
  Regarding costing for the Rocket stick, it is $79.99 with a 3-year hardware discount agreement, or $169.99 no term. You can check out http://www.rogers.com/lterocketstick as well if you like.
  
  We don’t currently have details to share regarding plans. Thanks Shammy,
  -RogersStacey
Ship1580 says: June 8th, 2011 a 10:48am

Will my current phone work with LTE or just this new Rocket Stick? I still have 2 1/2 years left on my contract and if my current phone won’t run LTE and I can’t upgrade without a huge penalty then what good is this new technology to me?
- RogersStacey says: June 8th, 2011 a 12:01pm
  
  Hi Ship1580,
  
  LTE is a next generation technology that works with next generation devices. We will share details about LTE devices, plans, upgrades, etc. closer to launch.
  
  Thanks,
  -RogersStacey
Chris says: June 8th, 2011 a 1:35pm

Hi, I’m looking into getting the Rogers Hub…will I have to get a new device when LTE come to my city if I want the LTE service? Will there be an upgrade package available? It’s doesn’t seem smart to buy the Hub now and in a few months or a year have to then shell out more money for a new device!
thoughts?
Chris
- RogersStacey says: June 9th, 2011 a 9:25am
  
  Hi Chris,
  
  You may have saw my response to another commenter asking about his current device’s compatability with LTE (in your case, it applies as well since you were asking about Rogers Rocket Hub) – since LTE is a next gen technology, it works with next gen devices (like the LTE Rocket stick we had announced today).
  
  But I did also want to let you know that we continue to invest in our current wireless networks – LTE is the next stage of our network leadership, but we continue to improve current networks in the meantime. This won’t stop with LTE.
  
  In terms of your question about upgrades, we’ll have details about LTE devices, plans, upgrades, etc. to share closer to launch.
  
  Thanks, Chris!
  -RogersStacey
Alph says: June 8th, 2011 a 8:19pm

This is interesting, but I am disappointed you aren’t willing to share information on devices. “Coming this summer” means anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months from now…I hope there’s enough lead time on plans and devices and your HUP policies so we can make an informed decision.
Richard says: June 8th, 2011 a 8:37pm

LTE could make my summer faster if there was a leading edge, touchscreen, 2 camera, 32Gb onboard storage, Android smartphone available.
- RogersStacey says: June 9th, 2011 a 9:14am
  
  Not to worry, Richard – in addition to Rocket sticks, LTE will power smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices over time – while we don’t have details on any other devices to share at the moment, we will let you know when we do. Cheers, -RogersStacey
Neil says: June 9th, 2011 a 1:35pm

Grat. Good to see. In line to get the 4G rocket stick. The next and most obvious question is, when will Rogers make 4G phones available? No point in going and buying a nice shiny new 3G phone with a 3 year contract, just before the network it runs on gets upgraded
E to the T says: June 18th, 2011 a 2:24pm

Hi Stacey,

-What is going to be the initial download speed for the LTE network?
-Can you at least confirm that there will be bigger data packages then 5gb?
-Will the playbook 4G be coming to Rogers when LTE launches at a discounted price with an agreement?
-What is your favorite color?
-Of course with LTE, like you mentionned, it will be possible to watch HD media on the go. If you have Rogers cable at home, would it be possible to have your Rogers cable on your mobile via an application where you can log in and watch your favorite movies and tv shows on the go?
-Finally, will the new Playstation Vita be offered with the LTE network at a discounted price with an agreement?

Thanks,
Eric T.
- Rogers_Chris says: June 23rd, 2011 a 2:04pm
  
  Hi Eric,
  
  To try and answer your questions:
  -LTE currently provides download speeds of up to 150 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of up to 70 Mbps – meaning mobile browsing, downloading and gaming are nearly as seamless and quick as a home or work internet connection
  -We’ll talk more about the price and value of LTE when we announce our first LTE-ready devices.
  -We can’t comment on devices that we haven’t announced.
  -Stacey’s favorite colour is green, and mine is blue.
  -Interesting question – at the moment, there’s Rogers on Demand Online, but nothing quite like you described exists at the moment.
  -Again, we can’t comment on devices we haven’t announced, as we may or may not carry them.
E to the T says: June 18th, 2011 a 2:36pm

P.S. I know I ask a lot, but it’s only because I need a lot!
Stitches says: June 25th, 2011 a 9:06am

This makes eevrythnig so completely painless.
al says: June 25th, 2011 a 8:16pm

What kind of LTE data plans are available for the new stick?
Duncan says: June 28th, 2011 a 12:26pm

Where are your LTE routers/hubs such as the Sierra Wireless Aircard 753 Mobile hotspot. I will not convert to LTE until routers/hubs become available.
I really hope Rogers follows through with LTE better than they did with their Portable Internet Service.
http://www.rogers.com/web/link/portableBrowseFlowBegin?productID=YPPT
Rogers first advertised that they were going build a network far into rural areas – but that network was never really built to the original visions. Apart from the limited network growth I really like the Portable Internet Service. It gives me cheap, unlimited, internet in a lot of the places I go.