Telefonica to Test 4G LTE Networks in Six Markets Spain, UK, Germany, the Czech Republic, Brazil and Argentina to go through LTE Testing

Carriers and manufacturers out there are slowly but surely getting ready
for the future of mobile communications. 3G is not enough anymore and
people are looking forward for 4G technologies. Telefonica, the giant
carrier that happens to be O2 s parent, seems to like LTE as a 4G
solution and it will therefore start testing it in six countries soon.
These are Spain, UK, Germany, the Czech Republic, Brazil and Argentina.

So what is LTE and why do we want it in our lives? LTE stands for Long
Term Evolution and it s a term you ll be getting used to soon as it will
become a worldwide standard. LTE is basically the natural upgrade of
UMTS and it will be able to offer, at least in theory, downlink speeds
of at least 100Mbps if not more. We are however a long way until we re
going to see sufficient LTE network deployed to start enjoying faster
data speeds and better calls quality. LTE is cheaper and easier to
develop and worldwide carriers should be able to upgrade their current
networks faster. In theory, that s good news for us, their faithful
subscribers, but we shall see how things turn out once dependable LTE
networks are in place and we ll be given the keys to LTE heaven.

Various carriers are toying with LTE and Telefonica is certainly one of
them. The company has publicly announced that it has signed various
agreements with six LTE technology providers which will help with LTE
testing in the countries mentioned above. Telefonica will work with
Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, NEC, Nokia Siemens Network and ZTE. The
testing will run over at least six months and should help the carrier
devise a viable LTE strategy for the following years.

Telefonica mentioned peak speeds of up to 340Mbps in �ideal conditions
� but you and I both know that s going to be highly unlikely in real
conditions. The company has successfully made the first VoIP call over
LTE in Madrid last April and the actual speed was more than 140Mbps or
10 times faster than what we can expect from HSPA right now.

And just before you go ahead and check out the full press release, I ll
answer a question a popular question for you. No, you won t be required
to change your 3G phone with an LTE handset. 3G will still be available
together with LTE so there are no worries there. But you will definitely
want to choose LTE instead of 3G at some point in the not so distant future!