Next gen mobile broadband expected to play prominent role at industry event

Next week sees the start of one of the mobile industry's biggest shindigs, Mobile World Congress - where LTE is expected to play a starring role.

The event, held every February in Barcelona, traditionally sees the unveiling of every new bit of mobile communications kit that has been under wraps for the preceeding few months, and it's always worth keeping an eye on as an indicator of where things are headed in the mobile world.

This year there is expected to be the usual focus on smart-phones, with Google's Android operating system at the centre of a certain amount of buzz; but fast mobile broadband is also expected to be a talking point. The next generation of mobile broadband - LTE, or Long Term Evolution - has been tested in a number of real-world situations, but further demonstrations of its capabilities are scheduled for Barcelona next week.

Swedish telecoms technology giant Ericsson is said to be planning to demonstrate a handful of real LTE devices from five vendors; while O2's parent company Telefónica will be working with Nokia Siemens Networks to demonstrate LTE on what it is calling 'pre-commercial' terminals. According to Telefónica and Nokia Siemens Networks, the demo will combine LTE equipment with terminals to showcase the potential of the technology to provide next generation mobile broadband services.

Vicente San Miguel, Chief Technology Officer at Telefonica, indicated that the company was committed to investing in "the future of mobile broadband", adding: "As the needs of our customers grow and mature, LTE is the way to go, and we are proud to say that we are among the first in the world to demonstrate LTE services using commercial hardware."

It may not be exciting stuff for anyone not in the industry, but the technologies being demonstrated at MWC will be in our phones and our laptops in the coming months and years, which makes it one to watch.