Ericsson will establish a new facility in Melbourne to help develop long-term evolution (LTE) technology.
The Melbourne facility, known as the LTE Global Competence Centre, will be Ericsson’s first such centre. It will commence full operations in August.
“The LTE Global Competence Centre will play a critical role in driving LTE development and places Australia at the forefront of advances in wireless broadband technology. Furthermore, the establishment of the facility is recognition of the world-class skills of the Australian IT industry,” said Bill Zikou, CEO of Ericsson Australia and New Zealand.
The facility will focus on research and development, system trials and testing. Engineering guidelines, as well as tools and processes for the introduction and operation of LTE networks, will also be developed at the centre.
An extension of existing GSM/WCDMA/HSPA networks, LTE enables theoretical peak download speeds of more than 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 50 Mbps.
“Australian carriers are showing keen interest in LTE and the Melbourne facility will provide them with easy access to global expertise, technology trials and consultancy services. This should serve to hasten the deployment of LTE and bring the benefits to Australian users earlier,” Zikou said.
