Remember how long it took to get 3G off the ground? Well now Nokia has got an even better idea: 4G! The next mobile standard will actually be called Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Sony Ericsson, NEC and Alcatel-Lucent have already signed up.
It flies in the face of Intel though, whose WiMAX technology is already being seen as a direct competitor. But with broader and faster coverage, Nokia and chums are convinced LTE is the logical progression for 3G.
The new network will be rolled out first in the US and China where it could replace not just 3G systems, but Wi-Fi as well. Nokia is pushing LTE for use in laptops and fixed broadband connections too.
Intel on the other hand is still confident that WiMAX will handle all of out wireless communication in the future. Chief Executive Paul Otellini told the BBC recently that 10 million people will be using the system in a year’s time and “hundreds of millions two years after that. We see WiMAX as the most cost-effective way to deliver high bandwidth wireless broadband.”
In the short term it seems that Nokia agrees to a certain extent – they launched the N810 WiMAX Edition a couple of weeks back, don’t forget – but over the long term, well, it’s a different story.
This looks like shaping up to be a good scrap so we’ll be following the battle for our next wireless mobile standard closely. Watch this space…
Via BBC.
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