Yeah, we’re still clamoring for 4G LTE but a recent tech demonstration out of Korea shows that the next-next generation of mobile broadband will be crazy fast. A recent test of LTE-Advanced showed this technology can get up to 600 Mbps.
If you don’t know, LTE-Advanced is the next generation of mobile broadband after Long-Term Evolution and WiMax and it was originally what the ITU wanted to label as “4G.” The standards body eventually relented though and included technologies like HSPA+, WiMax and LTE as “4G.”
While the boost in speeds over current 3G networks will definitely be appreciated, LTE-Advanced represents a quantum leap forward. During the demonstration, the advanced data network was able to download a 700 MB movie in 9.3 seconds.
The types of speed that LTE-Advanced offers could change the way we live and work. Not having to worry about where you are for data speeds makes things like HD video streaming easy and possible. The best part about this ubiquitous data is that it opens the doors for innovative apps that we probably haven’t even thought of yet.
If it sounds futuristic, that’s because it is. The demo shown off won’t be ready for public consumption until at least 2014 and it probably won’t make its way out of Korea for a few years after that.
That timeframe should be just about when AT&T and Verizon finish its 4G rollout and you would think it would want to start paying that off before upgrading again. LTE-Advanced should be able to use much of the same infrastructure, so let’s hope these carriers have big plans for the future of mobile data networks.
This is crazy stuff, as I don’t even get close to those speeds on my home connection. There are always those who say you don’t even need that kind of bandwidth but if you have it, we’ll find ways to use it. What would you do with that kind of speed?
[Via UberGizmo