Vodafone launches LTE network in ten cities, invests EUR 100mln next year

Romania is one of the first European markets where Vodafone launched its LTE/4G network, after Germany, Portugal and Italy.

”We are happy to announce that the Vodafone 4G network is implemented in ten large cities of the country, where we post the highest mobile internet traffic,” said Inaki Berroeta, CEO of Vodafone Romania.

 The LTE network, which operates in the frequency of 1800 MHz, is now available in 10 important cities: Arad, Bacau, Brasov, Bucuresti, Cluj, Constanta, Craiova, Iasi, Galati and Timisoara.

Over the next months, Vodafone will offer its customers the possibility to test the 4G technology at speeds of up to 75 Mbps in 17 Vodafone stores on a series of compatible devices: the USB Huawei K5005 modem for connecting from the PC or laptop, the Asus 700 KL tablet and the mobile hotspot Huawei R210, which can ensure connection for five smartphones, laptops, tablets or PCs, or a mix of these, at the same time.

Vodafone will pay EUR 228.5 million on spectrum resources it acquired this fall during the telecom tender. In addition, the company will invest approximately 100 million over the next year, including into LTE deployment, said Berroeta.

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However, Berroeta did not mention what type of commercial offers will accompany the LTE launch. ”We will start commercial operations in January and we will anounce the offers at that time,” he said.

Among the 4G compatible terminals in the Vodafone offer, the iPhone 5 can be used for 4G services in Romania, Berroeta mentioned.

Vodafone’s main competitors, Orange and Cosmote, also announced they would launch 4G services by the end of the year and next year, respectively.

At the moment, Vodafone’s network operation center for Europe is located in Romania, managing the networks of most of Europe.

Otilia Haraga