[Dr.Dave]

March 31 is the official launch date of its new HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access) wireless network that will deliver cellular voice and high-speed wireless data coverage of up to 21 Mbps to 97 per cent of Manitobans.

MTS is investing more than $100 million in the new HSPA+ network to provide MTS customers in urban centers and rural areas throughout Manitoba with faster download speeds, access to an exciting new lineup of smartphones and handsets, and extensive international roaming on compatible GSM and HSPA networks.

Also coming soon to MTS wireless customers across the province is the opportunity to sign-up for new, exclusive MTS bundled service offerings that no other service provider in Manitoba can match.

Outside of Manitoba, MTS HSPA+ customers will be able to roam in more than 200 countries around the world.

MTS will also continue to sell and support an exciting lineup of its CDMA based handsets and operate its current CDMA wireless network in Manitoba to support existing MTS customers and carry other wireless roaming traffic.

www.mts.ca/hspa for more information and coverage map.

According to other press releases, MTS have a mutual roaming agreement with Rogers. I don't know if Telus or Bell will have roaming on MTS' HSPA+ network.

 

[Dr.Dave]

Some interesting points from the MTS support site

Will I be able to use an HSPA device from another carrier on the new HSPA+ network?
Any unlocked devices (i.e. devices that are not tied to a specific carrier) will work with MTS SIM cards (on the MTS HSPA+ network). However, carriers such as Rogers, Bell and Telus lock their devices to work with only their SIM cards and these devices will not work with a MTS SIM card. Similarly, MTS intends to lock our devices to our SIM cards. Hence our devices will not be usable on another carrier's network.

Please note that any unlocked device must support HSPA North American Frequencies (850Mhz), older GSM devices will not function on our new HSPA network A customer can find out if their device is HSPA compliant by reviewing the phone's settings.

If a customer's HSPA device breaks will they be able to activate an older CDMA device?
If a customer's HSPA phone broke and they didn't want to pay for a repair we would allow them to ride out and fulfill their contract on a CDMA phone.

Will MTS be offering Prepaid on the HSPA+ network?
At launch, Prepaid will only be offered on our CDMA network. HSPA+ Prepaid will be introduced at a later date.

What do I need to know about coverage?
When it comes to coverage, you need to know the following:

• HSPA+ will not have as good of coverage as the existing CDMA network in the U.S.
• HSPA+ will have better coverage when travelling outside of North America (6X the countries covered by CDMA (EvDO))
• HSPA+ is being built according to the existing Manitoba MTS 1x network, which will mean that the new network will cover 97% of the Manitoba population. Our existing high speed data network (EvDO) only covers 72% of the population
• HSPA+ will provide improved coverage over CDMA in Morris, La Salle, Beausejour, Niverville, and Teulon.
• HSPA+ will not be available in Bissett, Churchill, Middlebro, Split Lake, Oxford House, Snow Lake, Ebb & Flow, Fisher River / Koostatak, Long Spruce, Radisson, Henday, and Wuskwatim.

 

[Techman224]

About time, now I can get 3G speeds outside of Winnipeg

I also heard that Rogers will also use the new network. Will MTS be able to use the Rogers 3G network outside of Manitoba without paying roaming fees? Hopefully MTS's Unlimited data plan can be use on the Rogers network throughout Canada.

 

[TorontoColin]

I don't know about the first one, but I very much doubt MTS will offer an unlimited data plan over HSPA. It's almost certain they will migrate to tiered capped data plans.

 

[Dr.Dave]

@Techman224, I read that MTS will announce details of the plans and phones closer to the launch date for competitive reasons. That's when we'll find out for sure about roaming.

 

[Reed Solomon]

They're sharing towers, Rogers and MTS, but I doubt they're sharing the other infrastructure (aside from the GSM for backwards compatibility, of which I'm sure rogers isn't fussed about)

 

[Dr.Dave]

MTS/Rogers agreement

Here is what MTS said about the Rogers agreement in one of their quarterly reports:

On July 28, 2009, we made a significant announcement regarding our wireless strategy going forward for both divisions of the company. We entered into a strategic wireless arrangement with Rogers Wireless Partnership ("Rogers Wireless") that will see both companies share the cost to deploy a universal mobile telecommunications systems/high-speed packet access ("HSPA") wireless network across the existing Manitoba wireless footprint. The agreement also allows us to leverage Rogers Wireless's purchasing scope and scale to gain cost effective access to the new network technology and leading-edge HSPA handsets. Our customers will have access to the best national and international roaming capabilities as a Rogers Wireless roaming partner, and both companies will share roaming revenues from the HSPA network in Manitoba.

 

[Dr.Dave]

MTS to launch iPhone 4

WINNIPEG, MB, February 10, 2011 - MTS will launch iPhone 4 in Canada in the coming months. iPhone 4 is the most innovative phone in the world, featuring Apple's stunning Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone and FaceTime, which makes video calling a reality.

I expected that this would happen once HSPA+ was announced - now it's official.

 

[jmorgan]

Some info from Rogers' RedBoard. Looks like they are sharing infrastructure to me.

Get ready Manitoba! Rogers to launch province wide network March 31

By: RogersMiranda
February 2nd, 2011 at 4:46pm

The countdown is on for more Manitobans to get their hands on the latest smartphones including Android, iPhone, BlackBerry and tablets for the first time on Rogers world class 3G+ network. Starting March 31, we’ll be launching our reliable network bringing 96 percent of Manitobans access to a new province-wide high speed voice and data network.

In several areas, for the first time, Manitobans will be able to own and use the latest smartphones, tablets and mobile broadband devices and experience mobile Internet service at download speeds of up to 21 Mbps.

While we already offer service in Winnipeg and southern Manitoba, this expansion allows us to upgrade our existing coverage area to high speed HSPA+/3G+. It also allows us to expand into new areas like Thompson, The Pas, Flin Flon and more.

To check out a future network coverage map of Manitoba, go here.

If you live in Manitoba, what smartphone are you interested in getting?

 

[Techman224]

Looks like they rebranded their new network from HSPA to 4G.

http://www.mts.ca/hspa/

 

[Reed Solomon]

Looks like they rebranded their new network from HSPA to 4G.

http://www.mts.ca/hspa/

That's so sickening to read.

 

[Dr.Dave]

It looks like MTS is following Telus and Bell by calling their HSPA+ network 4G.

I noticed MTS is starting to list some of the smartphones they will be offering:
BlackBerry Torch 9800
BlackBerry Bold 9780
Nokia C6-00

 

[Mozza]

Do you blame them, though? Telus did it first.

 

[Reed Solomon]

Do you blame them, though? Telus did it first.

it's sad to me that the incumbents always feel the need to follow in lock step.

 

[Dr.Dave]

I don't think it has anything to do with incumbency. It's probably about marketing - 4G sounds better than HSPA+. All the wireless carriers will be calling their networks 4G eventually, even if the technical definition is a little murky. Plus I'm sure MTS wants everyone to know their network is just as advanced as the competition.

BTW I tried mts.ca/4g and it works.

 

[Dr.Dave]

BlackBerry Curve 9300 has been added to the handset list.

 

[timmaywpg]

1 Android device - Motorola Spice and 1 Symbian Device -Nokia Surge added to HSPA Line-Up.

http://mobilesyrup.com/2011/03/22/mts-to-release-the-motorola-spice-and-nokia-surge/

I'm glad to see they're finally adding some android devices to the new network! Hoping for some "better" droid devices to roll out soon (such as the samsung galaxy)!

 

[TorontoColin]

I'm pretty sure the Nokia Surge is actually Symbian.

I'm sure they'll be getting a lot more Android over the next few months.

 

[timmaywpg]

I'm pretty sure the Nokia Surge is actually Symbian.

Correction made, thanks!

 

[Reed Solomon]

Well it looks like they're still offering the same types of plans on the new network (including unlimited data), but man, 3 blackberry phones and 2 horrid nokias? They really couldn't get a decent Android phone for launch? Sigh.