EU takes sides in new standard war for wireless

As of 1 January 2010, the EU will invest €18 million into research that will underpin next generation 4G mobile networks. The European Commission just decided to start the process of funding research on Long Term Evolution (LTE) Advanced technology, that will offer mobile internet speeds up to a hundred times faster than current 3G networks. LTE is becoming the industry's first choice for next generation mobile networks, also thanks to substantial EU research funding since 2004.

25 years ago, Europe already made the GSM standard the backbone of modern mobile telephony. Based on Europe's joint research and the strength of the EU's single market, the GSM standard is today used by 80% of the world's mobile networks. LTE promises to be a similar success as EU-funded research continues to bring cutting-edge technology to the daily lives of Europeans.

• Primary Source

European Commission: Press Release: IP/09/1238: EU invests a fresh € 18 million in future ultra high-speed mobile internet http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1238&format=DOC&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

CORDIS: FP7: ICT: Programme: The Network of the Future : an essential infrastructure for our society http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/future-networks/

Wikipedia: 3GPP Long Term Evolution http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3GPP_Long_Term_Evolution

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