Yota Is First To Transition From WiMax To LTE

Not too long ago we started to hear that Clear Wire and Sprint were making movies that gave them more flexilbity. Part of the flexibility was making it easier for the companies to move from WiMax to LTE for 4G coverage if they desire. WiMax is still the most widely used 4G service around the world and there are a number of 4G networks in use in cities across the globe as the image below shows.ABI Research reports that with companies in the US only starting to talk about possibly switching from WiMax to LTE in the future, Russian wireless provider Yota has actually made the move. Yota has announced that it will cover the next 15 cities in its network with LTE rather than WiMax.

The company also stated that Moscow and St. Petersburg would be covered with LTE by the end of 2011. Yota is thought to have acquired additional wireless spectrum and rolled out FD-LTE service rather than the TD-LTE service that some though it was using.