The new iPad introduced by Apple on March 7 2012 is the first Apple product to support higher speed “4G-LTE” cellular data networks. Although there has been no formal definition of 4G as a standard, the wireless companies have jumped on “4G” as a marketing term for anything that is faster than the original 3G network. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4G HSPA+ and LTE are both 3G technologies.
So “4G” in this case is a meaningless term, and you have to check whether you are getting HSPA+ (up to a theoretical 21 Mbps, average 4- 6 Mbps), DC-HSPA+ (up to a theoretical 42 Mbps, average 7 – 14 Mbps) or LTE (up to a theoretical 75 Mbps, average 12 – 25 Mbps) when your service is advertised as “4G”. (Your actual data speeds will be less than the best-case estimates).
An LTE Micro-SIM card will have to be ordered along with the iPad for the carrier of your choice. According to Rogers and Telus, you can move a 3G Micro-SIM from an older iPad to continue on 3G service, but won’t have access to LTE.
Rogers LTE coverage is limited to 5 major urban cores – Vancouver (City to Surrey and Coquitlam), Toronto (Mississauga to Markham), Ottawa, Montreal & St. John’s. This will change over time. They offer 4G-HSPA+ in larger areas
Rogers coverage map: http://www.rogerslte.com/lte-in-your-area
LTE plan costs
2GB per month $35 + $1.93 fees
6GB per month $60 + $1.93 fees
10GB per month $50 + $1.93 fees
$10 per additional GB
Plans include free access to Rogers WiFi Hot Spots
Call 1-888-ROGERS1 Visit Rogers site for details
Bell Mobility is claiming a wider LTE coverage, in Belleville, Calgary, Edmonton, Guelph/Waterloo, Halifax, Hamilton, London, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver, Yellowknife
Bell coverage maps http://network.bell.ca/en/lte/?coverage
LTE plan pricing
250MB per 30 days $15
500 MB per 30 days $20
5GB per 30 days $35
Plans include free access to Bell WiFi Hot Spots
Call 1-800-667-0123 or Visit the Bell site for details
Telus similarly has coverage of 4G-LTE in 13 major centers and wider coverage through 4G-DCHSPA+
Telus coverage map: http://www.telusmobility.com/en/BC/canada_travel/index.shtml?eVar6=link
LTE Plan pricing
100MB per 30 days $10 (flex plan)
250MB per 30 days $15 (prepaid plan)
500 MB per 30 days $20 (flex or prepaid)
5GB per 30 days $35 (flex or prepaid)
Data overage $0.02 per MB ($20 per GB)
Call 1-866-558-2273 or Visit the TELUS site for details
On the iPad launch date, none of the networks had the new iPad listed on their LTE device pages or specific LTE iPad plans on display.