TDC late last week announced it has launched LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation (CA) in Denmark, doubling the theoretical peak connection speed on its mobile network to 300 Mbps.
500 cell sites have so far been upgraded to what is rapidly becoming known worldwide as 4G+.
The service is available in select areas of the capital Copenhagen, as well as parts of the major cities of Aalborg, Aarhus, Esbjerg, Holstebro, Næstved, Odense, Slagelse, and Viborg.
Rather than oversell its 4G+ service, TDC said customers should be aware that a limited number of devices currently support CA, and even then, they should not expect to receive 300 Mbps.
"It’s the same principle as the expansion of highways," explained Peter Schleidt, head of operations at TDC, in a statement on Friday.
"More tracks by itself does not provide higher speed. But it does mean that traffic runs better and with less queuing," he said. "More people can then get faster at the same time – the same goes with 4G+."
So far, 64 LTE-A networks have been deployed worldwide, according to figures published in April by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA). 116 operators in total are investing in carrier aggregation, the industry body said.
While TDC issued a caveat about handset availability alongside its LTE-A launch, the GSA revealed in a separate announcement in June that 1,132 different LTE-A devices are currently available, 108 of which support speeds up to 300 Mbps.
TDC said its next step is to aggregate a third frequency band, upgrading its network to tri-carrier LTE-A and its theoretical maximum speed to 450 Mbps.
The operator said it has tested the technology and is ready to launch it when compatible devices become available.
