Vodacom has launched a commercial LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) service using spectrum in the 5.8GHz band in a section of Sandton City, located in Johannesburg, TechCentral writes. Despite the commercial launch of the technology, compatible handsets and routers are only expected to be available later this year. The cellco also trialled LTE-U on a controlled environment in Midrand, showcasing download speeds of 217Mbps by aggregating 10MHz of licensed spectrum in the 1800MHz band and two 20MHz blocks of 5.8GHz frequencies. Going forward, the company is planning to step up its rollout once LTE-U-suitable smartphones and routers become available.