Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC), working in partnership with parent company Liberty Global, has announced the completion of a field trial of 4.5G LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro) technology in Antigua and Barbuda, which it says will hopefully pave the way for the rollout of the next generation of ‘transformative technologies’ there. Speaking at the 33rd CANTO Annual Conference & Trade Exhibition, John Reid, CEO of CWC confirmed that the company has completed a pre-5G wireless broadband technology trial in Antigua where it operates under the Flow (Antigua and Barbuda) banner. Reid notes that once fully installed, ‘Antigua will be the first country in the region with the most advanced pre-5G network, delivering download peak speeds of up to 800Mbps’. The press announcement goes on to say that in the trial’s next phase, the company expects to test a 5G prototype capable of delivering peak speeds of 2Gbps to 5Gbps.
Furthermore, from October this year CWC will further test a 5G prototype network designed to deliver wireless data connections above 2Gbps. If the trials are successful, and the business case favourable, it plans to invest another USD5 million in Antigua alone to significantly upgrade the wireless infrastructure there. CWC has invested USD1.5 billion in the region over the last three years.