UAE-based cellco Etisalat Afghanistan has successfully tested a trial 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in Afghanistan. The new network, the first of its kind in the country, will support speeds of up to 100Mbps allowing subscribers to utilise data-intensive services such as streaming high definition (HD) movies. The company did not comment on the footprint of the trial system, or a suggested time frame for its commercial launch. Etisalat’s CEO, Ahmed Alhosany commented that the development demonstrated the group’s ‘ongoing commitment to bring the latest and most innovative technologies to the people of Afghanistan, technologies that make it easier, faster, efficient and convenient to communicate, to conduct business and to stay in touch with the world around them.’
TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database notes that Etisalat was awarded the nation’s first 3G licence, launching an HSPA+ network in the capital Kabul in March 2012, before extending coverage to Jalalabad, Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat, Kunduz, Parwan, Kandahar, Ghazni and Jawzjan over the course of the year.