Optus Begins TD-LTE Trials

Australian operator Optus has announced it has begun Time-Division Long Term Evolution (TD-LTE) network trials with customers in Canberra. The new network uses the 2.3GHz band, and the pilot stage will see two new TD-LTE compatible products tested, a 4G dual band dongle and a Wi-Fi modem, with both available for sale early next month, according to ZDNet. The cellco has twelve TD-LTE base stations in the city, with a further 20 to be added in the next few months. Optus also operates an FD-LTE network using 1800MHz spectrum, and secured spectrum in the 700MHz and 2.5GHz bands in April this year.