Posted: 16th Feb, 2006 By: MarkJ
T-Mobile claims that the next generation of 3G (super-3G / 3G LTE) mobile phone communications will be able to push data speeds beyond 20Mbps by 2009:
Currently, the fastest mobile download technology available is HSDPA , which offers a theoretical maximum of 3.6Mbps and a realistic downlink of around 1Mbps.
Industry watchers believe that LTE, which can potentially offer speeds of up to 100Mbps, will be able to make services such as mobile VoIP and TV broadcasting a viable proposition for operators.
However, LTE remains some way off and HSDPA will have to run its course first, T-Mobile believes. The second and third generation of HSDPA will bring speeds of up to 7.2Mbps by 2008, according to the operator's predictions. The first generation 'super 3G' network is currently scheduled to be rolled out in the UK some time this year by most operators.It's a shame 3G technology is too different from fixed-line broadband to compete on the same economic and performance level. Operators still have to recoup their huge investment in the original 3G licenses. More @
ZDNet.