DirecTV Colombia targets 3Q18 LTE-A overhaul

Colombian satellite pay-TV provider DirecTV, which launched TD-LTE-based wireless broadband services back in July 2014 using 2600MHz spectrum, has unveiled plans to upgrade its networks to the LTE-A standard from the third quarter of this year. Company manager Jose Daniel Gomez revealed the plans at the recent Asociacion Nacional de Empresas de Servicios Publicos y Comunicaciones (National Association of Public Services and Communications Companies, Andesco) event in Medellin, noting that DirecTV’s existing 4G networks are ‘too saturated’. The first phase of the upgrade will see 30 of the company’s 673 towers reconfigured with Massive MIMO functionality, which will deliver faster transmission speeds. DirecTV’s 4G service is understood to be available in 224 towns and cities.