Rogers LTE/4G in 2010: All-in-One Voice/Data Plans?

Hello iPhoneinCanada.ca Readers!

Hello everyone, first of all I’d like to introduce myself, my name is Josh Davies and my friends call me Shave. I’ve been visiting iPhoneinCanada.ca for a while now and was so impressed I begged Gary to let me write a few articles for him.

I’ve been hacking my iPhone 3G since day 1 and I also have a Computer Engineering background so hopefully I can help with any of your jailbreaking needs.

Thoughts on the Evolution of Upcoming Rogers LTE

The first topic I’d like to talk about is the 4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, which Rogers will be moving to in the near future. I’ve been reading for a while now about a call Rogers held regarding their plans to launch the new LTE network initially in Vancouver in time for the 2010 Olympics and the rest of Canada by Q2 2010.

rogers-iphone

The day after this report came out Rogers denied any such call even though the audio from the call has been posted online.

Since then I haven’t seen much about whether the call actually happened or any more tentative dates on the LTE launch. But, with the recent release of Skype for the iPhone, I started to think about this again.

LTE Explained in a Nutshell

The LTE network will be packet-based, all IP, basically meaning any voice service carried over these networks takes the form of IP packets, LTE creates an all-data cell network and has lower lag, a voice call is ‘just an app’ like anything else.

This raises a few questions,

  1. Will data prices drop?
  2. Could we theoretically drop our voice plans and use data plans only?
  3. Will Skype or other VoIP apps be allowed in the Canadian App Store? Did Rogers have anything to do with it not being there in the first place?

The quality of Skype calls should increase drastically and you could theoretically use Skype for all your calls, saving money on your monthly minute allowances and of course your long distance costs.

The current version of Skype works great over wifi and works pretty darn good on 3G but it is still not at the quality level of a regular voice call. With LTE this could all change.

The Future of Wireless in Canada with LTE Voice/Data Plans

One of the biggest reasons Rogers and AT&T will take their sweet time rolling out LTE is that they currently make most of their money from voice plans, and separate data plans.

With LTE, we could pay a monthly fee for data and use this data any way we please. I’m personally very excited for this!!

What are your thoughts on the new LTE/4G network and how data plans may change? Would you use a VoIP client to do all your calling if the quality increased?

Check back for my updates soon and follow me on twitter @joshjadavies

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