LG today announced that it has developed the first cellular phone modem chip based on 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology standards, the next-generation of wireless network. According to LG spokesman, the modem chip can theoretically support wireless download speeds of 100Mbps (megabits per second) and upload speeds of 50Mbps, faster than the broadband network speed that we currently have. This represents a significant step toward creating a market-ready 4G phone.

For the past three years, LG have been pursuing 3GPP LTE standardization, working to develop and test commercially viable LTE technology with approximately 250 of R&D staffs. The result is a 13 by 13 mm modem chip, perfectly sized for the next generation of slim-yet-powerful handsets. For its demonstration today, LG used a test terminal running Windows Mobile to play back high quality, on-demand video. In addition to this handset modem, LG is also developing the first preliminary LTE-based data card, which can replace the wireless cards currently used in computers.

“Now that LG has developed and tested the first 4G handset modem, a commercially viable LTE handset is on the horizon,” said Dr. Woo Hyun Paik, CTO of LG Electronics. “This latest breakthrough gives us a strong technology advantage that we will use to bolster our industry leadership.”