LG tests 'first 4G handset modem'

An electronics company has claimed a first in the world of mobilebroadband.

LG said that it had tested a chip which is capable of downloading from the internet at speeds eight times faster than phones currently commercially available.

The firm used a technology called Long-Term Evolution (LTE) - which is currently vying with WiMax to be the standard for fourth-generation internet telephony - to achieve wireless download speeds of 60Mbps and upload speeds of 20Mbps.

Most phones on the market, which use the HSDPA standard, can only achieve a maximum of 7.6Mbps, the company claimed.

"Now that LG has developed and tested the first 4G handset modem, a commercially-viable LTE handset is on the horizon," said Paik Woo-hyun, LG's chief technology officer.

If the company's claims are accurate, then it could signal a new dawn in terms of mobile internet.

The speeds LG said it could reach means that a 700MB film would be able to be downloaded in minutes, while the LTE technology means a buffer would not be required - therefore avoiding jittery playback.