Motorola trialling 4G mobile network

Posted by Al Warmington on Thu 5 Feb 2009

Long Term Evolution promises speeds in excess of 100Mbps

Motorola is inviting network operators to get a first look at the future of mobile internet . The company has just started trialling its first 4G mobile network at its Swindon lab.

4G, also known as Long Term Evolution (LTE) by the 3GPP collaboration of telecoms companies, is already getting experts excited over its potential. Motorola itself notes that “expected user data rate is very hard to evaluate and will depend on many factors”, but it is possible that we could be looking at speeds in excess of 100Mbps, as well as dramatically improved latencies, down to 5ms.

With those kind of speeds, the possibilities for this tech are huge. Forget trawling scaled-down versions of the web – we’d be talking web-heavy applications running instantly from your handset, and cloud-based mobile computers that aren’t mere figments of the imagination. Furthermore, it won’t hurt the government’s plan to roll out broadband to everyone in the country and with a bit of luck, it’ll be at speeds well in excess of the conservative 2Mbps currently being planned.

"Motorola is at the forefront of 4G development, which will address the mobility demands of today's consumers who are looking for personalised media experiences, and operators looking to lower their cost per bit and gain a competitive advantage," said Joe Cozzolino, senior vice-president and general manager, Motorola EMEA home and networks mobility.

Vodafone is currently trialling enhanced HSDPA+ mobile broadband and a new dongle is expected at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Motorola is expected to be showing off some of its 4G / LTE tech too, but its actual roll-out is probably a lot further down the line than Vodafone’s 13Mbps service.

Link: Motorola, LTE (via ComputerWeekly)

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