March 3, 2010 – Between May and September, mobile virtual network operator Telenet will be the first in Belgium to conduct tests to study and evaluate the new possibilities of 4G or LTE (Long Term Evolution). The Mechelen-based company has obtained the necessary test licences from the Belgian Institute for Post and Telecommunication (BIPT) to do so. With these licences, coverage can be provided for the city of Mechelen and the E19 motorway between Mechelen North and Mechelen South.

During the test period the LTE network will provide users with 10x faster mobile internet, and a response time that is up to 3x faster. Together, these characteristics will make mobile broadband internet via LTE attractive for applications such as online gaming, real-time television, interactive video services, videoconferencing and
internet applications in cars (‘connected car’).

The planned tests will be conducted using special 4G equipment that is not yet on the market but is currently under intense development. Telenet will provide the necessary 4G devices to a limited number of relevant internal and external stakeholders. The objective is to determine how LTE can complement Telenet’s current product offerings and to learn what issues the Mechelen-based company will have to be aware of should it decide to pursue further commercialisation of this spectrum.

‘I am particularly pleased that we are the first in Belgium – and that as a mobile virtual network operator! – to be able to perform these tests with LTE’, emphasized Telenet CEO Duco Sickinghe. ‘In our company we believe strongly in the principle “Follow the customer, not the cable.” With the promise LTE holds and the increasing demand for super-fast mobile internet, Telenet should be able to improve its product offerings even more in the future.’