Samsung Unveils World's First 4G Mobile Technology, on a Bus

Posted 05 September 2006 @ 09:24 am EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

SEOUL (AP) - South Korea's high-tech giant Samsung Electronics have unveiled the world's first fourth-generation (4G) mobile technology with a demonstration on a bus.Samsung said the new technology, an upgraded version of existing wireless communications platforms, would enable users to download 100 MP3 music files in less than 3 seconds even when the consumer is in motion.

Samsung held a demonstration on a bus travelling at speeds of up to 60 kilometres (36 miles) per hour during a forum on the southern island of Jeju.A live broadcast of the forum, VOD (video on demand) and internet access was shown simultaneously on the bus, allowing people to experience the stability and speed of 4G connectivity of 100Mbps (megabytes per second) data speed, the company said.Compared with a wireless broadband called WiBro, 4G technologies will guarantee a faster and more seamless transmission of data and other multimedia content, it said.

WiBro, a third-generation (3G) communications tool, offers internet speeds of 2-3Mbps to a user who is moving at up to 120 kilometers per hour. South Korea started commercial WiBro service in June.With the 4G technology, people can view multi-channel high-definition TV broadcasting and control home appliances through mobile devices."We hope to drive the development and standardization of 4G mobile technology with this successful demonstration and to realize our dream of beginning the 4G era," Samsung telecoms business president Lee Ki-Tae said.

Samsung plans to put the technology into commercial use by 2010 if the spectrums for 4G technology are decided next year."We will be able to develop mobile phones using 4G technology by the end of 2008," Lee added.The International Telecommunication Union defines 4G technology as a future wireless telecommunications technology allowing data transfer rates of 1Gbps (Gigabyte per second) at nomadic circumstances and 100Mbps in mobile circumstances.Samsung officials say their 4G technology would become new growth engines for South Korea, which leads the world in terms of handset use and Internet penetration.