Russian operator MegaFon has launched the world’s fastest 4G network, with speeds of up to 300MBps.
The operator said it is using the latest Category 6 standard of LTE. It is using a combination of spectrum covering a spread of 2.6Mhz and the frequency resource of MVNO Scartel, which it bought last year.
Huawei built the network infrastructure and subscriber equipment for the network, which covers the Garden Ring area of Moscow. MegaFon said that it is planning to extend network coverage to cover the area within the Moscow Automobile Ring Road (MKAD).
It will roll out what it is calling its 4G+ product to other Russian cities at a later date.
MegaFon, which has been demonstrating LTE-A technology with Huawei at the Sochi Winter Olympics, said data will cost the same across 3G and 4G.
Mikhail Dubin, Executive Director, Consumer Business, OJSC MegaFon, said: “The company’s clients already have access to the biggest 4G network in the country. Now we are moving to modernize this network and commercially launching the world’s fastest network using the latest LTE Advanced standard.”
Alan Hadden, President of the Global Mobile Suppliers Association said: “GSA is delighted to welcome the world’s first commercial launch of a 300 Mbps LTE-Advanced network today by MegaFon. We congratulate this pioneering achievement by MegaFon and their partners and applaud their strategy to deliver the best possible mobile broadband user experience.”