Ericsson, Renesas Mobile demo LTE Category 4 at Mobile World Congress 2012

Renesas Mobile and Ericsson are demonstrating LTE Category 4, specified by 3GPP as providing downlink speeds of up to 150Mbps, at Mobile World Congress 2012. Category 4 is the next step in the evolution of LTE, and will enable smartphones and other LTE devices – such as tablets and routers – to deliver an even better end-user experience.

The demonstration used Ericsson live infrastructure and the SP2531 LTE triple-mode modem from Renesas Mobile. Enhancing the smartphone ecosystem by increasing data speeds will allow data usage to continue to grow.

The two companies have a relationship that stretches back more than a decade, having collaborated on interoperability development testing (IODT) of advanced technologies. This collaboration helps to drive the development of truly non-proprietary industry solutions, which allow new technologies to be widely deployed.

The first LTE Category 4-compatible devices are expected to hit the market by the end of 2012. Ericsson’s LTE infrastructure support is already available.