New service combines LTE and Wi-Fi technologies
South Korean mobile telephony operator KT announced it will commercialize the world’s fastest mobile network, branded GiGA LTE, which combines LTE networks with Wi-Fi connections.
The operator said that the new network service offers a maximum download speed of 1.17 Gbps, which is 15 times faster than the existing LTE and four times faster than the tri-band LTE-A. GiGA LTE also offers upload speeds 10 times faster than tri-band LTE-A.
“The GiGA LTE is a high-end technology that is two or three years ahead of its time,” KT’s network division head Oh Sung-mok said, adding that “KT will spare no efforts to develop faster and more stable mobile technologies for customers.”
KT currently operates 200,000 LTE base stations and 140,000 Wi-Fi hot spots across South Korea. The company also said it has collaborated with compatriot smartphone manufacturer Samsung Electronics since September 2014 to develop the GiGA LTE technology.
Users of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones will be the first to have access to the new service. According to a company official, five to six new Samsung smartphones compatible with the new GiGA LTE network will be launched during the second half of the year, along with some LG models.
South Korea’s largest mobile carrier SK Telecom and competitor LG Uplus also have announced plans to commercialize mobile network technologies that aggregate LTE and Wi-Fi technologies.
KT is currently offering LTE services across the Asian nation through spectrum in the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands. The company initially launched its LTE offering in January 2012.
The operator ended the first quarter of 2015 with a total of 11.43 million subscribers in the LTE segment, up from 8.63 million in the same quarter the previous year. By the end of March, LTE technology accounted for 65.3% of KT’s overall mobile subscriber base.
Last month, KT and France’s Alcatel-Lucent signed a memorandum of understanding under which the two firms will collaborate to test technologies for the eventual introduction of 5G mobile networks.
