Belizean mobile operator SpeedNet Communications, which trades as Smart, has announced that it will unveil the country’s first 4G LTE network on 15 December, in Belize City. Citing investment worth BZD9 million (USD4.4 million), Smart notes that ‘all towns and major highways’ will be covered by year-end. Going forward, the islands of San Pedro and Caye Caulker will see 4G deployments in early-January. Customers should not expect to experience major downtime as the upgrades take place, it adds.
Following the announcement, rival operator DigiCell, which is owned by Belize Telemedia Ltd (BTL) has confirmed that it is in the midst of negotiations with unspecified telecoms vendors, ahead of its own planned rollout. DigiCell plans to activate its own 4G network in 2016.