Mobile broadband gets more mobile with prototype LTE car

We've seen mobile broadband on planes and trains, so it was probably only a matter of time before some bright spark devised a way of getting mobile broadband into cars.

And not just any mobile broadband in this case - this one uses the next generation of mobile broadband, LTE. A partnership of techincal companies has created a prototype "LTE Connected Car", by taking an inoffensive little Toyata Prius (favoured by the ecologically sound) and outfitting it with an LTE connection. The connection is in turn hooked up to a bit of bridging software which uses WiFi to create a hotspot in the car.

An specialised in-car operating system then serves as a platform on which to run the connected content - which includes video on demand, and multiplayer games (presumably not while you're driving), as well as navigation, maintenance checks and notifications, traffic information and so on.

The car has been created by a consortium of technology companies and content developers known as the ng Connect Program; headed up by the communications service provider Alcatel Lucent. However, they are not the only ones chasing the LTE car dream - Mercedes-Benz has also demonstrated an 'infotainment' system which will connect to an LTE network - so it seems that the LTE car could very well be the car of the future.