SANTIAGO, May 17, 2016.- In the framework of World Telecommunication Day, Movistar Chile announced that from today it is available 4G LTE connectivity over the 700 MHz band in the Metropolitan Region, and in the coming days in the regions of Arica and Parinacota, Tarapacá and Magallanes and the Chilean Antarctic.
The deployment of 4G LTE connectivity over the 700 MHz band of Movistar Chile began in Santiago and will progressively expand to other regions, so in the coming weeks should be running throughout the country, optimizing the quality of service All your 4G LTE clients.
In this way, customers in these areas will experience the high speed of 4G also in enclosed spaces. In addition, this implementation results in a greater coverage of LTE technology (when added to the existing one by the 2600 MHz band) and considers important improvements in signal reception in indoor (indoor).
Andrés Wallis, Corporate Affairs Director of Movistar Chile, explained that " the start-up of the 700 band is the starting point for the operation of the 4G + technology, which will be available from the second half of this year and will triple the speeds reached by the current 4G ".
On the deployment in regions, Wallis highlighted the interest of the company to provide connectivity to extreme areas of the country, noting that " we care about adding the regions to this digital revolution. In August 2015 we launched the first 4G test experience on the 700 MHz band in the town of Cachiyuyo, Atacama region. Today we reaffirm our commitment to the regions, putting at your disposal world-class technology that will surely provide an important contribution to the quality of life of Chileans . "
The Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, Andrés Gómez-Lobo, explained that "as of today, the use of the 700 MHz band will begin officially, which will allow the deployment of 4G LTE technology in the country". The authority added that "with this Chile remains at the forefront of telecommunications at the regional level, given that it is one of the first countries to deploy 4G and the only one with a process designed with mandatory national coverage."
Currently, Movistar is the main operator of 4G LTE in Chile, with more than one million customers and plans to finish this 2016 with 1.5 million customers browsing this technology that allows, in optimal conditions, to reach connection speeds close to 100mbps and that enhances the viewing of videos, streaming and fast downloads of content, among other features.
In parallel and as part of the consideration for the award of block A of the 700 MHz band, Movistar has 24 months to deploy 4G and 18 months to bring 3G connectivity to 366 localities, 158 schools and 2 routes in the north ( Border Crossing Chungará (131 km) and Route 2 to Varillas, Caleta Paposo (112km)).
To be able to navigate in 4G in 700 MHz band, in the case of post-paid customers, in addition to having a 4G SIM and plan, you must have a smartphone that allows you to connect to that band, for which Movistar currently has 39 models available. In the same way it happens with 4G prepaid customers.
How does 4G + work?
4G + technology (LTE Advanced) has a big difference compared to 4G, since it incorporates Carrier Aggregation technology. "This means that the 2600 MHz band is combined with the 700 MHz band, allowing much faster data transmission speeds, higher than 250 Mbps," says Andrés Wallis. In this way, data travels faster over more channels, which will increase data rates per user and reduce latency (network response time) compared to conventional LTE networks.
This technology will begin its deployment in 100 sites in the Metropolitan Region and then, gradually, deploy to regions in order to continue to massify the high speed in the country.