Singaporean fixed and mobile operator StarHub has announced that its Long Term Evolution (LTE) servicewill go live in the city-state on Wednesday 19th September, and that concurrently, it will upgrade its existing 3G network. The carrier, the market’s second largest cellco by subscribers, will initially offer 4G services in Singapore’s Central Business District, as well as in Changi Airport and Singapore Expo. In 4Q12 it expects to have extended its LTE footprint to over 50% of the territory, targeting key high traffic areas and suburbs in the first phase, with nationwide coverage scheduled to be completed by 2013. In addition to the launch of commercial 4G services, StarHub says it will also go live with dual-carrier evolved high speed packet access (DC-HSPA+) services on its 3G network in the coming weeks, doubling current maximum downlink speeds to 42Mbps.
Commenting on the launch Mr Chan Kin Hung, StarHub’s head of marketing & products, said: ‘Mobile data usage has more than doubled between 2009 and 2011, and we are seeing a fast growing demand for mobile data applications and services. We expect this growth trend to continue, and we have been devoting our resources and efforts to drive service improvements in our mobile network.’