Wireless carriers in the US who offer 4G LTE service tend to have speeds that top out at around 60 Mbps or so for downloads, and 20 Mbps for uploads… although real-world performance is usually 3-5 times lower.
But in other parts of the globe, LTE is about to get a whole lot faster.
South Korean wireless carrier SK Telecom recently introduced a new LTE-Advanced network which it says will offer download speeds as high as 150Mbps.
This week UK carrier EE announced it’s new “DoubleSpeed” LTE network will offer similar top speeds.
Of course, those are the theoretical limits. Average download speeds are more likely to run between 20 Mbps and 40Mbps. But that’s still faster than the top speeds many people get at home, let alone on the road.
It should be more than enough speed to stream HD video (or several HD videos at once), download large files, or generally find a way to burn through your monthly data cap in no time flat.
Both EE and SK Telecom are rolling out their new super-speedy mobile broadband networks in select cities at launch. But hopefully this is a sign of things to come (and hopefully it’ll also eventually lead to an era of higher data caps, or more options for unlimited data plans)
Don’t expect much in the U.S. due to lack of regulalory pressure. Cable, phone, wireless, etc. telecomm services are allowed to handled by a handful of mega-corps who carve up territory in ways that limit any real competitive pressure and operate as cartels. Geographical coverage and product (phone) selection are the only areas where a form of pseudo-compeititon exists to quiet the masses when the topic gets brought up. It lets both regulators and the Congress off the hook so the sheep can be led to slaughter.