On Thursday, Rogers and Ericsson officially activated the first Canadian 4G LTE network in Ottawa. “This network will power the next generation of innovative products and services in ways we’ve never seen before,” Rob Bruce, Rogers’ president of communications said. “[It] will be the backbone of Canada’s digital economy as we continue to move from a wired to a wireless world. We’re thrilled to welcome Ottawa — and Canada — to the future of the fast.” Rogers currently does not offer any 4G LTE smartphones but it is expected to launch devices from HTC and Samsung later this year, Toronto Sun reported. Rogers also said it will roll out its 4G LTE network to a total of 21 markets in 2012, starting with Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver this fall.

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AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon have reached an agreement with music and movie publishers that will help enforce copyright infringement while giving the ISPs a chance to level with their customers. According to Ars Technica, copyright owners will continue to scour the dark corners of the net looking for anyone downloading and illegally sharing their content. If an IP is found to be downloading or sharing illegal content — likely via P2P networks — the music and movie companies will alert the ISP directly. ISP’s will then send a note to the offending customer, without passing off private information unless there is a court order to do so. Users may get up to four alerts from the ISP, but after that the ISP can choose to start implementing “temporary reductions of Internet speeds, redirection to a landing page until the subscriber contacts the ISP to discuss the matter or reviews and responds to some educational information about copyright, or other measures that the ISP may deem necessary to help resolve the matter.” If a user believes he or she has been targeted without merit, an appeals process can be started for a $35 fee but, as Ars Technica notes, it’s unclear who will be the judge in that process. Read on for the full details on the six strikes.

First Alert: In response to a notice from a copyright owner, an ISP will send an online alert to a subscriber, such as an email, notifying the subscriber that his/her account may have been misused for content theft, that content theft is illegal and a violation of published policies, and that consequences could result from any such conduct. This first alert will also direct the subscriber to educational resources which will (i) help him/her to check the security of his/her computer and any Wifi network, (ii) provide explanatory steps which will help to avoid content theft in the future and (iii) provide information about the abundant sources of lawful music, film and TV content.

Second Alert: If the alleged activity persists despite the receipt of the first alert, the subscriber may get a second similar alert that will underscore the educational messages, or the ISP may in its discretion proceed to the next alert.

Third Alert: If the subscribers account again appears to have been used for content theft, he/she will receive another alert, much like the initial alerts. However, this alert will provide a conspicuous mechanism (a click-through pop-up notice, landing page, or similar mechanism) asking the subscriber to acknowledge receipt of this alert. This is designed to ensure that the subscriber is aware of the third copyright alert and reminds the subscriber that content theft conducted through their account could lead to consequences under the law and published policies.

Fourth Alert: If the subscribers account again appears to have been used for content theft, the subscriber will receive yet another alert that again requires the subscriber to acknowledge receipt.

Fifth Alert: If the subscribers account again appears to have been used for content theft, the ISP will send yet another alert. At this time, the ISP may take one of several steps, specified in its published policies, reasonably calculated to stop future content theft. These steps, referred to as Mitigation Measures, may include, for example: temporary reductions of Internet speeds, redirection to a landing page until the subscriber contacts the ISP to discuss the matter or reviews and responds to some educational information about copyright, or other measures that the ISP may deem necessary to help resolve the matter. ISPs are not obligated to impose any Mitigation Measure which would disable or be reasonably likely to disable the subscribers voice telephone service (including the ability to call 911), e-mail account, or any security or health service (such as home security or medical monitoring). The use of the mitigation measure is waivable by the ISP at this point.

Sixth Alert: Whether or not the ISP has previously waived the Mitigation Measure, if the subscribers account again appears to have been used for content theft, the ISP will send another alert and will implement a Mitigation Measure as described above. As described above, it’s likely that very few subscribers who after having received multiple alerts, will persist (or allow others to persist) in the content theft.

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Sprint was nice enough to shoot us over its brand new Sprint Novatel 3G/4G MiFi, and while we saw it at CES, there’s just nothing like getting one in your hands (or paws) and taking it for a spin. We’re huge fans of Novatel Wireless, and we definitely prefer its MiFi products to USB data sticks or tethering our phones when we need mobile internet — so we’re extremely glad the company introduced a 4G WiMAX version of its popular MiFi device. Our quick impressions: it’s a tad thicker than the original MiFi, though it makes up for that by not only offering 4G speeds, but also by running a stripped down version of Linux that includes a splashy dashboard to monitor signal strength, GPS status, and network connectivity status in real-time. Additionally, we’re absolutely loving the eReader-like display on the MiFi that shows signal, GPS, and connectivity status. It’s extremely valuable and something we’re not sure how we lived without before. As for performance, we’re getting pretty decent speeds at 5Mbps down and 950Kbps up in and around New York City. We haven’t been able to judge battery life in our usage just yet, but it seems to be at least as good as the original MiFI workhouse we use all the time. Make sure to check out the rest of our photos in our gallery!

Waiting for Verizon Wireless to light up 4G LTE in your hood? Droid-life has got a hold of what they are reporting to be some of the next cities Verizon looks to be launching 4G service. At the end of 2011, we should see at least 140 markets be blanketed with LTE coverage, and by 2013, Verizon is aiming to have at least 2/3 of the country covered. Hit the break for some of the rumored 2011 markets.

Update: Sorry, folks. This slipped by me — it’s confirmed by Verizon.

• Mobile, Alabama
• Montgomery, Alabama
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Gainesville, Florida
• Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida
• Pensacola, Florida
• Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida
• Tallahassee, Florida
• Augusta, Georgia
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Kahului-Wailuku, Hawaii
• Lahaina, Hawaii
• Boise-Nampa, Idaho
• Carbondale-Marion, Illinois
• Wichita, Kansas
• Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Hammond, Louisiana
• Detroit, Michigan
• Flint, Michigan
• Fayetteville-Lumberton, North Carolina
• Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point, North Carolina
• Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
• Wilmington, North Carolina
• Dayton-Springfield, Ohio
• Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Erie, Pennsylvania
• State College, Pennsylvania
• Charleston, South Carolina
• Columbia, South Carolina
• Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina
• Hilton Head, South Carolina
• Sioux Falls, South Dakota
• Chattanooga, Tennessee
• Clarksville, Tennessee
• Cleveland, Tennessee
• Kingsport, Tennessee; Johnson City, Tennessee; Bristol, Virginia/Tennessee
• Knoxville, Tennessee
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas
• Bryan-College Station, Texas
• Provo-Orem, Utah
• Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah
• Centralia, Washington
• Olympia, Washington
• Charleston, West Virginia
• Madison, Wisconsin
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg is likely none too pleased with the team responsible for writing a presentation he gave at a recent investor conference. In it, Seidenberg stated that his company’s LTE service could become a “modest substitute” for traditional cable or home Internet access. The press and blogs subsequently erupted, and rightfully so — at $50 for 5GB per month or $80 for 10GB per month (plus $10 per GB for overages on either plan), Verizon’s “4G” would be an extremely pricey cable Internet alternative. It would also provide service that is a fraction of the speed of current home Internet solutions. Cable Internet subscribers in many regions pay $30-$40 each month for download speeds in excess of 20-30Mbps and no finite caps on usage. In preliminary tests, Verizon’s LTE service achieved download speeds of less than 10Mbps with no load whatsoever on the network.

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Despite being slightly overshadowed by a certain announcement from Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS announced Wednesday the launch of its “4G” LTE network in San Francisco and the surrounding areas. San Francisco joins Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Detroit and Dallas-Forth Worth in the growing list of markets now covered by MetroPCS’ LTE network. MetroPCS plans to expand its 4G services to cover Atlanta, Boston, Jacksonville, Miami, New York, Orlando, Sacramento and Tampa between during the course of December and early 2011. Currently, MetroPCS only has one LTE-compatible cell phone available — the Samsung Craft, which is available for $299 with no contract. The carrier also has two available 4G service plans: a $55 “4G” plan, which includes unlimited nationwide calling, text messaging, picture messaging and 4G data; and a $60 “4G Premium” plan, which adds unlimited on demand video.

MetroPCS Launches 4G LTE Network in San Francisco Metropolitan Area

Experience Unlimited 4G LTE Mobile Broadband with the Entertainment-Rich Samsung Craft^TM

DALLAS – (Dec. 1, 2010) – MetroPCS Communications Inc. (NYSE: PCS) today launched unlimited, no annual contract 4G LTE services in the San Francisco metropolitan area starting at $55 per month including taxes and regulatory fees. Accessible on the world’s first commercially available 4G LTE handset, the Samsung Craft^TM, MetroPCS’ 4G LTE network allows consumers to do more with unlimited talk, text and enhanced entertainment and web browsing features.

“We can’t add hours to the day, but we can help consumers do more in the hours they have. With easy access to social networks and enhanced web browsing capabilities, our customers can stay on top of the latest news, access their favorite content through MetroSTUDIO^SM, and keep up with friends, family and colleagues,” said Roger D. Linquist, president, CEO and chairman of MetroPCS. “As the only no annual contract, pay-in-advance service provider offering 4G LTE services, MetroPCS continues to deliver the innovative, flexible and affordable services our customers rely on.”

The Samsung Craft is available in-store in all MetroPCS markets or online for $299 plus tax after the $50 instant rebate, while supplies last. Customers can take advantage of all MetroPCS 4G LTE has to offer with the Samsung Craft, including:

•MetroSTUDIO, powered by RealNetworks, available on the $60 service plan, delivers full-track downloads, ringtones and ring-back tones, as well as premium video content from NBC Universal, Black Entertainment Television (BET) and Univision, available on-demand from one easy-to-use application.
•A social networking and instant messaging application which harnesses notifications, friends and content from Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and AIM, MSN and Yahoo! IM clients into a single interface that’s accessible with one click.
•Upgraded MetroNavigator^® feature includes new voice-activated GPS and turn-by-turn directions.

The Samsung Craft features a brilliant 3.3 inch AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) screen for a better video experience, and comes with a 2GB MicroSD card pre-loaded with Paramount Pictures’ hit movie “Star Trek – The Future Begins.” The Samsung Craft also contains a combination touch screen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Samsung’s TouchWiz^TM user interface to surf and text message, 3.2 megapixel camera with flash, camcorder and is Wi-Fi capable.

With today’s launch in the San Francisco metropolitan area, MetroPCS now provides 4G LTE services in six metropolitan areas, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. MetroPCS has plans to expand its 4G services into more major metropolitan areas later this year and into early 2011, including Atlanta, Boston, Jacksonville, Miami, New York, Orlando, Sacramento and Tampa.

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Despite AT&T’s current lack of 4G branding, the carrier announced Monday that its mobile broadband network is currently the fastest in the U.S. The new claim comes on the back of a “comprehensive third-party drive test” performed by Global Wireless Solutions (GWS). The findings show that AT&T’s wireless network delivers the fastest average download speeds in the country compared to other major wireless carriers. According to a nice color-coded graph that helps AT&T dance around having to name its competition, we can see that Verizon Wireless’ network was found to be a whopping 60% slower, on average. Sprint had the next fastest network according to GWS, but it was 55% slower than AT&T. T-Mobile’s “4G” network fared better but it still delivered download speeds that were an average of 20% slower than AT&T. Hit the break for the nifty color-coded chart that helps illustrate GWS’ findings while also helping to keep AT&T out of hot water.

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AT&T might not call its HSPA+ network “4G” like T-Mobile does, but trust us when we tell you… AT&T’s enhanced 3G network can move. The screen shot above, taken just outside New York city on Wednesday afternoon, shows an iPhone 4 enjoying download speeds of 5Mbps on AT&T’s HSPA+ network. According to AT&T CTO John Donovan, 80% of AT&T’s network is now covered by HSPA+, though he did not elaborate on average speeds are experienced in various regions. Donovan also discussed the growth rate of data traffic on the carrier’s network, which is up 3,000% over the past three years — from approximately 1 billion MB in Q3 2007 to a staggering 30.3 billion MB in Q3 2010. Growth has slowed in recent months, from 50% growth in Q2 of this year to 30% in Q3, but the carrier isn’t expecting its data growth rate to continue decreasing. AT&T is currently preparing to launch an LTE network next year that will be even faster than its HSPA+ network, which has a theoretical downlink limit of 21Mbps. AT&T has not publicly stated firm speed expectations for its LTE network.

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Today, Sprint announced that its WiMAX, 4G network is officially open for business in six additional locales: New York; New York, Hartford; CT, New Haven; CT, New Brunswick; NJ, Trenton; NJ, and Tampa; FL.

“Sprint has provided customers with 4G service since 2008 and we’re proud to extend our leadership to six more cities today, including New York City,” said Sprint’s president of 4G, Matt Carter. “Sprint is the first national wireless carrier to make 4G a reality for our customers and with the addition of these six new markets we are now in 61 cities, including Chicago, Baltimore and Houston, and are growing. By the end of the year Sprint 4G plans to light up several major new markets including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Denver and Washington DC to name a few.”

If you’re in the Big Apple, or any of the other aforementioned markets, fire up your 4G device(s) and let us know what kind of speeds you’re seeing.

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We’re at T-Mobile’s intimate myTouch event right now (we’re currently snuggling up with all four colors — white, black, red and purple), and here are our first-hand impressions:

• It feels good in the hand. The device is pretty slim, has a slight Android chin at the bottom, and all in all seems to be very solidly-built.
• The screen is beautiful, sharp and bright — but not as good as an AMOLED in our opinion.
• It rocks the myTouch UI that first appeared with the myTouch Slide, though it seems a bit more refined now.
• We’re currently watching Vincent from SlashGear and Sascha from PC Magazine try to establish a video call. It was unsuccessful at first, but it seems like they’re having way too much fun now that it’s working. Never mind, Sascha is yelling at the phone now.
• Watching a demo of the phone streaming video to a TV set was pretty cool. After some quick initial buffering, movies, photos and YouTube played effortlessly on the HDTV.

We’re pretty excited for the launch of the new myTouch. It’s packed with features and it nicely compliments T-Mobile’s stock Android G2 device as a younger-focused counterpart. Hit the jump for our full gallery, ok?

Click on over to our T-Mobile myTouch hands on gallery!

According to Droid-Life, yes. They seem to have come across a public test webpage URL on Verizon’s site that show the pricing for the soon-to-be launched Motorola DROID Pro at $299 with 2 year service agreement. Now, it’s possible the price is just a placeholder, but $299 for a primarily business-aimed handset wouldn’t be out of bounds in our opinion. Especially with global roaming capability. Thoughts?

[Via Engadget]

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We just received a shot of an internal AT&T memo detailing the carrier’s intention to start transitioning to LTE-capable SIM cards. AT&T has started preparing employees for a new SIM card that will be used for LTE handsets and devices, all except the iPhone 4 since that uses a microSIM card. AT&T tells employees to verify the SIM card is correct by checking the SKU on the card even though the new LTE cards are visibly different, just to be safe we’re assuming. It also appears there will be up to “eight different SIMs” during the transition, so verifying the SKU might be the only way to go. Well, it’s a start, no?

Via a press release, pre-paid wireless carrier MetroPCS has announced the addition of a third city to its U.S., LTE portfolio, Detroit. “With a state-of-the-art 4G LTE network and an advanced entertainment handset with a brilliant AMOLED screen, MetroPCS’ predictable, flexible and affordable service plans provide a compelling value to consumers while meeting their growing demand to do more with video, social networking and higher speed Internet access,” quips the press release. Metro has already gone live with LTE in Las Vegas and Dallas/Fort Worth. The company’s LTE service plans are quite affordable, at just $55 and $60 — utilization of said 4G plans are obviously geographically-limited for the time being. Hit the jump for the full press release.

MetroPCS Brings First Commercial 4G LTE Services to Detroit Metropolitan Area Consumers

DALLAS, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ — MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) today introduced the first commercial 4G LTE services in Detroit, Mich., with monthly plans starting at$55, including all taxes and regulatory fees. Detroit consumers will enjoy 4G Web access along with unlimited voice and text services on the world’s first commercially available 4G LTE-enabled handset from Samsung Mobile, the Samsung Craft™.

Detroit is the third U.S. city where MetroPCS is offering commercial 4G LTE service, with additional major metropolitan areas to follow later this year and into early 2011. With a state-of-the-art 4G LTE network and an advanced entertainment handset with a brilliant AMOLED screen, MetroPCS’ predictable, flexible and affordable service plans provide a compelling value to consumers while meeting their growing demand to do more with video, social networking and higher speed Internet access.

“MetroPCS is taking Wireless for All® to the next level with unlimited, affordable LTE service,” said Roger D. Linquist, president, CEO and chairman of MetroPCS. “Expanding our 4G LTE network to Detroit marks a key milestone for the Company by bringing 4G mobile broadband services to area customers and consumers who want to experience more and who demand more value. We look forward to expanding 4G LTE coverage throughout Eastern and Western Michigan throughout 2011.”

MetroPCS offers monthly 4G LTE service plans for $55 and $60, which includes 4G Web access along with unlimited nationwide talk and text initially, on an unlimited basis. In addition, Detroit customers will now have access to new applications and features that take advantage of MetroPCS’ 4G LTE network, including:

• MetroSTUDIO(SM), powered by RealNetworks, available on the $60 service plan, includes access to entertainment content that consumers demand, such as full-track downloads, ringtones and ring-back tones, as well as premium video content from NBC Universal, Black Entertainment Television (BET) and Univision, available on-demand and on-the-go from one easy-to-use application.
• A new social networking and instant messaging application which harnesses notifications, friends and content from Facebook, MySpace and Twitter social networks and AIM, MSN and Yahoo! IM clients into a single interface that consumers can access with one click.
• Upgraded MetroNavigator® feature with the addition of voice-activated GPS and turn-by-turn directions.

MetroPCS is initially offering the Samsung Craft in Detroit area stores and online for $299 plus tax, after $50 instant rebate, while supplies last. The Craft delivers a stunning visual experience with its 3.3 inch AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) screen, and comes with a 2GB MicroSD card pre-loaded with Paramount Pictures’ hit movie “Star Trek-The Future Begins.” The device also includes a combination touch screen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Samsung’s TouchWiz™ user interface to surf and text message, 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and camcorder and Wi-Fi capability.

“With the launch of Detroit’s first and only commercial 4G LTE service and the Samsung Craft, MetroPCS is giving Detroit customers the power to do more with the mobile Internet every day, when and where they need it,” said Glen Flowers, vice president and general manager of MetroPCS Michigan. “By offering premium 4G LTE service on a no-contract basis, Detroit residents will be able to seamlessly access social networks, find the best route to work, catch the latest hit TV shows, or download and share music, video and photos all from the palm of their hand.”

MetroPCS recently launched 4G LTE service in Las Vegas and Dallas-Fort Worth, and 4G LTE network rollouts are planned for later this year and early 2011 in the remaining MetroPCS U.S. markets, including Boston, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Los Angeles,New York, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Francisco and Tampa. MetroPCS plans to further expand 4G LTE coverage in 2011 along with the launch of additional devices to increase MetroPCS’ portfolio of feature phones, touch screens, smartphones and 4G handsets.

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Friendly reminder, folks… RIM’s latest candybar device and lower cost QWERTY 3G handset are now available for purchase from your friendly AT&T store. If you need a refresh on the products, here we go:

BlackBerry Pearl 9100

• SureType keyboard
• 3G
• Wi-Fi
• GPS
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• 1150mAh battery
• $149 with 2 year agreement

BlackBerry Curve 9300

• QWERTY keyboard
• 3G
• Wi-Fi b,g,n
• GPS
• 2 megapixel camera
• $99 with 2 year agreement

If you’re in the market for a BlackBerry handset from AT&T which one are you going to go for? Or do you think you’ll hold out for the BlackBerry Bold 9780?

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One of our solid Apple sources has just let us know some pretty interesting (and exciting) information surrounding Apple’s upcoming iPhone devices. For starters, we have been told that iPhone model 3,2 — what everyone is assuming to be the Verizon (or at least CDMA-compatible) phone — just hit the “AP” testing stage. This is the very last stage before retail release; final hardware, almost final software. Here is the odd thing, though… the iPhone 3,2 unit, we have been exclusively told, contains a SIM card slot. This is interesting for a multitude of reasons, and presents several different scenarios:

• The iPhone 3,2 could be the mythical CDMA + GSM/HSPA device that would support Verizon, AT&T, and the other current worldwide iPhone 4 carriers frequencies. The mid-cycle refresh would bring an updated antenna design for the current iPhone 4 and bring CDMA-compatibility; essentially, Verizon Wireless subscribers would have the same device as AT&T subscribers.
• The iPhone 3,2 could be a CDMA-capable iPhone that houses a SIM card for global roaming capabilities; though that certainly seems more complicated than just having one single glove that would fit both hands.
• One last possibility that the iPhone model 3,2 would simply be a slightly different design that doesn’t suffer from the same antenna attenuation as the current model; though that would be a little disappointing.

As far as the next generation iPhone 5, our source has also indicated to us that device has hit the “EVT” stage in the development cycle. The “EVT” stage is the engineering verification test phase, before the “DVT” phase.