Motorola kicks off UK LTE trial

Motorola yesterday tested out its new long term evolution (LTE) network by making an LTE-compliant, high-speed data services call over its new pilot infrastructure.

The communications giant is gearing up for the first commercial release of LTE solutions in the 700MHz and 2.6GHz spectrum bands, which will make their appearance sometime this year. The pilot network is likely to prove key as it nears D-Day.

This week's over the air test operated in the 2.6GHz spectrum and made use of a prototype LTE device and the company's new trial network and testing lab, which are based in Swindon.

The efforts in Swindon will complement Motorola's LTE work elsewhere in the world, including the US, China and India. It is hoped the test infrastructure will help support the case for LTE in addition to providing transition guidance.

"Motorola is at the forefront of 4G development which will address the mobility demands of today's consumers who are looking for personalised media experiences and operators looking to lower their cost per bit and gain a competitive advantage," said Joe Cozzolino, senior vice president and general manager in Motorola's home and networks mobility arm for Europe, the Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific.

"With our latest trial network we look forward to working closely with our customers in EMEA as they transition to LTE during 2009 and beyond.

The communications giant teased LTE-hungry users further by promising a live experience during Mobile World Congress (MWC), which takes place in Barcelona later this month.