The International Telecommunications Union, which is the United Nations agency for IT and telecoms, has confirmed the specifications for next-generation mobile technologies. This will be known as IMT-Advanced and will include ‘LTE-Advanced’ and ‘WirelessMAN-Advanced’ (which is also known as Mobile WiMAX Release 2).
Although WiMAX, LTE and HSPA+ are often described as a ‘4G’ service, the ITU sees IMT-Advanced as being the true fourth-generation evolution.
Mr François Rancy, Director of ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau, said “IMT-Advanced would be like putting a fibre optic broadband connection on your mobile phone, making your phone at least 500 times faster than today’s 3G smart phones. But it’s not only about speed; it’s about efficiency. IMT-Advanced will use radio-frequency spectrum much more efficiently making higher data transfers possible on lesser bandwidth. This will enable mobile networks to face the dramatic increase in data traffic that is expected in the coming years.”
The announcement, made by the ITU Radiocommunication Assembly, sets the stage for next week’s ITU World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva.