SEOUL: Korean electronics powerhouse Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said it has successfully demonstrated 4th generation (4G) mobile technology, the first in the world to do so.
In the new technology, data transmission can be done at speeds up to 50 times faster than current mobile WiMAX technology.
Samsung said the demonstration was carried out on a speeding bus and data could be transmitted between mobile transmitters and receivers at a speed of up to 100 Mbps.
The company's telecommunications network business unit president Lee Ki-tae said Samsung hopes to drive the development and standardization of 4G mobile technology with this successful demonstration, and to realize its dream of beginning the 4G era. The company will work with associated parties for the successful commercialization of 4G technology, he added.
The International Telecommunications Union defines 4G technology as a future wireless telecommunications technology allowing data transfer rates of 1Gbps at nomadic circumstances and 100Mbps at mobile circumstances.
The spectrum for 4G technology will be decided at the World Radiocommunication Conference in October of 2007. The 4G mobile communications format is expected to become commercially available around 2010.
Lee said the global mobile phone sales are set to grow faster than expected in 2006, while Samsung's own handset sales will just meet the target. The company had projected some 900 million units in global sales, but it could be around 950 million units, he said at the Samsung 4G Forum. Samsung expected to meet its own mobile phone sales target of 115 million "without problem".
Samsung is trailing Nokia and Motorola Inc. in the handset market and had seen its mobile phone sales fall in April-June from the previous quarter.
Lee said Samsung is not keen on boosting market share by selling cheaper mobile phones. Instead, it intends to focus on selling higher-end devices.
