LG Electronics has successfully lab tested a 4G (fourth generation) mobile network chip based on 3GPP Long Term Evolutionary (LTE) Mobile Broadband technology in Korea. The chip, which was installed inside of a Windows Mobile phone, achieved a top download speed of 60Mbps and upload of 20Mbps.


It's claimed that the chip itself should ultimately be capable of carrying download speeds at up to 100Mbps and uploads of up to 50Mbps, significantly faster than existing Mobile Broadband (HSPA) tech that tops out at 14.4Mbps (384Kbps upload) under the basic specification; though HSPA+ is known to be capable of nearer 40Mbps.

LG's first commercially viable LTE handset could reach the market sometime in 2010, though predictions for new mobile tech have historically been quite ambitious. Naturally the test itself was conducted in a lab and in the real-world consumers could only ever expect to see a small fraction of its full capability.

Most of the major mobile operators are pursuing LTE-based 4G technology. Because it is based on the existing WCDMA technology evolutionary path, 85% of WCDMA service-provided carriers will be able to upgrade their networks to LTE with far less cost than building a new network based on a different technology (i.e. Mobile WiMAX).