2nd April - Ericsson unveiled its M700 mobile platform, the world's first commercially available LTE-capable platform, with peak data rates of up to 100Mbps in the downlink and up to 50Mbps in the uplink. These speeds match, or in some cases surpass, fixed-line data rates, enabling a superior user experience, supporting advanced real-time mobile services such as online games and video streaming.

The M700 is optimized both in terms of size and power consumption and comparable to standard 3G platforms available today. The first products based on M700 will be data devices such as laptop modems, ExpressCards and USB modems for notebooks, as well as other small-form modems suitable for consumer electronic devices. A rich set of interfaces allows easy integration with other handset platforms to create multi-mode devices. Samples of ASICs will be available during 2008 and commercial release is set for 2009, with products based on the platform expected in 2010.

Supporting bandwidths between 1.4 and 20MHz, the M700 is compatible with networks around the world. It can support up to six bands, including the 700 MHz bands. Ericsson's interoperability testing ensures manufacturers can rapidly bring highly advanced devices to the market while reducing risk and lowering development costs.

Robert Puskaric, Head of Ericsson Mobile Platforms, says: "This world-first launch marks a milestone in Ericsson's technology leadership and reflects our commitment to developing LTE as an evolutionary path. It is set to boost operators' service offering and provide consumers with a superior experience with full service broadband on any device, anywhere, at any time."

The announcement follows another Ericsson first, the demonstration of an LTE-enabled end-to-end phone call employing handheld mobile devices at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February 2008.