As the Mobile World Congress continues in Barcelona, Nokia Siemens have garnered a fair bit of attention by demonstrating a 1.4 gigabit per second mobile data connection using the next iteration of 4G mobile technology, known as LTE-Advanced.
If like me you’re already salivating at the prospect of such blisteringly fast mobile data, consider this: practically all LTE advanced demos conducted to date have been done under laboratory test conditions. So whilst a 1.4Gbps cellular data connection sounds impressive, the reality is likely to be somewhat less flashy under real world conditions, given cell-site congestion and other factors such as constraints around the capacity of back-haul connections from cell-sites back to phone exchanges.
That said, Ericsson (who also recently demonstrated their LTE-Advanced implementation) managed to hit a not quite as fast (but still impressive) 950Mbps – whilst travelling in a moving vehicle.
Whilst US carriers are already pushing 4G, any move to LTE Advanced will most likely be a fundamental step forwards for mobile data throughput. US pay TV operator, Dish Networks is already be talking up an LTE advanced launch in 2013, but any launch will also depend on how much LTE spectrum operators can acquire.
For end-users, another potential issue could also be device battery life. Whilst smartphone tech is in a near constant state of improvement, shunting data around at such blisteringly fast speeds may impact on battery life. This could however be less of an issue for USB mobile data sticks and devices with cellular data radios built-in.
So what about New Zealand?
Although Carriers are already jockeying for LTE spectrum, LTE advanced would almost definitely be a boon for rural broadband users unable to get fixed line broadband, as well as those not wanting to foot the costs associated with running copper or fibre to their properties.
The biggest issue for Kiwis however will most likely to come down to the cost of LTE advanced data plans, especially given the already steep price of mobile data in New Zealand.
0 comments:
Post a Comment