T-Mobile and Nortel Networks have successfully tested a new, fast, wireless technology designed to make mobile connections as fast as fixed fiber links, a Reuters report said.
While this might be somewhat optimistic, the Reuters report said the two firms successfuly conducted the LTE test connection while driving in a car in range of three cell sites on a highway in Bonn, Germany at an average speed of 67 kph.
The experiment achieved data rates of up to 170 Mbit/s for downloads and up to 50 Mbit/s for uploads, the operator said, about three times faster than the new high-speed broadband technology VDSL it is currently rolling out across the country.
The Reuters report further quoted Philipp Humm, head of T-Mobile Germany, saying that if LTE proved promising in more everyday situations, the Bonn-based company would consider upgrading its network with it.
A decision would be made within six months, he said.
The industry has not settled on a standard for 4G networks, with some operators and developers lining up behind Sprint Nextel's WiMax technology and others promoting the LTE system, the Reuters report further said.