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Ericsson takes LTE-Advanced next-level, notches 1Gbps downloads in testing
Smirking as you pull down borderline-criminal speeds on your Droid Charge? Ericsson's doing you (at least) one better. The Swedish company is pushing out-of-this-stratosphere speeds to its testing van using upcoming LTE-Advanced technology; it managed to hit download speeds that exceed our paltry LTE limit by a factor of ten -- that's 1Gbps, folks. Not only is Ericsson cranking up the speed, it's also endeavoring to make the new network more efficient by offering 8x8 MIMO (Multiple-Input, Multiple-Output) functionality, which enables data to be retrieved and sent faster regardless of network congestion. Of course, these test results are taking advantage of 60MHz available bandwidth, as opposed to the global max of 20MHz and the US standard of 10 . If we'd like to see speeds of such magnitude, we'll have to come across more spectrum somewhere, and soon; Ericsson hopes to have the first phases of LTE-Advanced ready to bump up our network speeds by 2013. At that point, "faux G" will take on a whole new meaning, won't it? Full PR and video after the break.
ITU lays down law: WiMAX 2, LTE-Advanced are 4G, everyone else is a buster
Fleshing out what constitutes a 3G versus a 4G wireless technology is like trying to objectively quantify whether Coke or Pepsi is the superior beverage -- but for what it's worth, the UN's ITU is widely recognized as the closest thing we have to a final word (on the Gs, that is, not the colas). They've just issued a press release stating that of six technologies nominated for IMT-Advanced (the formal name for 4G) certification, just two have emerged victorious: 802.16m WiMAX 2 -- also known as WirelessMAN-Advanced -- and LTE-Advanced. That would leave Sprint, Verizon, and everyone else currently deploying WiMAX and LTE technically false in advertising their latest-generation services as "4G," though with so many technologies crowding the 3G space, we can't necessarily blame them; heck, even EDGE and CDMA2000 without EV-DO technically qualify as 3G in the eyes of the ITU, so yeah, the situation is really just as muddled as ever. For what it's worth, neither 802.16m nor LTE-Advanced are live anywhere in the world -- and they aren't expected to be for some time -- so whether you like it or not, the UN says you're still living a 3G existence no matter where you're located. So close! Follow the break for the ITU's release.
Europe sinks €18 million into LTE Advanced development
If your LTE modem's feeling a bit sluggish, well... first of all, we hate you for having access to that kind of network and equipment already. Secondly, you're insane. Thirdly, though, you're in luck -- because the European Union has just agreed to shell out some €18 million (about $25.4 million) toward development of LTE Advanced, the next logical step in the world's wide-area wireless roadmap. Negotiations for claiming the funds will start next month, while research is expected to commence in January of next year -- in other words, this labor isn't going to bear fruit for a while yet, but that's quite alright considering we don't exactly have a plethora of plain-vanilla LTE networks commercially available at the moment.
