ITU Assembly approves 4G standards

An International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radiocommunication Assembly on January 18, 2012 approved the next generation of mobile technology – IMT-Advanced – which will make devices 500 times faster than 3G smartphones.

“Following a detailed evaluation against stringent technical and operational criteria, ITU has determined that “LTE-Advanced” and “WirelessMAN-Advanced” should be accorded the official designation of IMT-Advanced, said ITU in a statement.

Mr François Rancy, Director of ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau, said in a statement that “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.”

Officials say the 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 system will also support low to high mobility applications and a wide range of data rates in accordance with user and service demands in multiple user environments.

By Ekow Quandzie