MIAMI – Following the launch of LTE data commercial services, Puerto Rico’s telecom operator Open Mobile is preparing to launch a smartphone LTE service. Speaking at Amdocs InTouch event (check out all our stories) this week in Miami, Neville Cruz, chief technology officer at Open Mobile, said the launch is expected to occur during the next two months on Motorola, HTC, and Pantech devices.
Deep smartphone penetration and high data usage led Open Mobile to make its LTE commitment. It previously relied on its CDMA 1x/EV-DO network. Puerto Rico’s mobile penetration is 78%. Open Mobile has four wireless operator competitors there: AT&T, Claro, T-Mobile USA, and Sprint Nextel.
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According to Cruz, average voice use in Puerto Rico is 2,000 minutes per month and the average data usage per person there is 3Gb a month, which is much higher compared to other Latin American countries.
Open Mobile had to deploy LTE in a short timeline, since its competitors have announced their own LTE launches, too. “We had to make a LTE call in ten weeks,” Cruz said. “Conducting LTE deployment was the most challenging project of my life.”
Amdocs provided travel expenses to this event.
