4G inches closer with Nokia Siemens tests
The fourth generation of mobile broadband has moved closer to reality, following fresh trials by Nokia Siemens Networks. Nokia Siemens Networks’ tests, announced last week, involved Long Term Evolution (LTE), a potential successor to 3G. Offering theoretical data rates of up to 173 megabits per second, LTE is in something of a race to market with mobile WiMax, only promises which around 70Mbps but has a significant head start. The fastest currently available mobile broadband, HSDPA, offers around 7.2Mbps.
In its announcement, Nokia Siemens Networks said it had completed the world’s first multiuser field trial of LTE in an urban environment. The trial, which was in Berlin, utilized 20MHz of bandwidth in the 2.6GHz spectrum, which is set for a hotly contested auction in the U.K. next year. “(The trial confirmed) that LTE performance requirements can be met using 3GPP standardized technologies and it realized data rates of more than 100Mbps over distances of several hundred meters, while maintaining excellent throughput at the edge of typical urban mobile radio cells,” the company’s statement read.
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