Trials of Next Gen LTE Mobile Broadband in the UK launched by Motorola

The UK will soon be seeing the launch of the first Long Term Evolution (LTE) trials in the UK, which could see users getting mobile broadband speeds that could be set to exceed current fixed broadband connections.

Swindon is set to be the site for the first LTE (Long-Term Evolution, 4G) next generation Mobile Broadband trial testing lab and mobile network that has recently been launched by Motorola. A live, standards compliant LTE call in which a prototype LTE device and Motorola’s LTE infrastructure, which operates in the 2.6GHz spectrum, streamed high speed data services was how the new lab recently began its life.

The senior vice president and general manager of Motorola Home & Networks Mobility, EMEA & Asia Pacific, Joe Cozzolino said “Motorola is at the forefront of 4G development which will address the mobility demands of today’s consumers who are looking for personalized media experiences and operators looking to lower their cost per bit and gain a competitive advantage. With our latest trial network we look forward to working closely with our customers in EMEA as they transition to LTE during 2009 and beyond.”

Following recent report on both LTE and WiMax technology the most likely candidate to replace the existing HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) based 3G mobile broadband services is believed to be LTE. HSPA can only run at speeds of up to 14.4Mbs theoretically and HSPA+ would increase this to 42Mbps for downloads.

LTE will have the potential to reach downstream speeds of 326Mbps in comparison, although a single figure Megabits per Second (Mbps) service is probably the average speeds most users will experience in real world terms. The only issue that remains with these trials underway is where the money for the extra capacity for mobile operators is going to come from.