EU to invest more on LTE 4G wireless networks

The European Union said Tuesday that it will invest a fresh €18 million ($25 million) in next generation mobile broadband network research.

These networks, dubbed 4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE), rival WiMax. LTE technology promises mobile Internet speeds 100 times faster than current 3G networks.

In a statement, the EU said it it has been investing in LTE research since 2004. Europe is hanging its shingle on advanced wireless technologies.

So what's the payoff?

Viviane Reding, the EU's Commissioner for Telecoms and Media, argues that the LTE research will keep "know-how" in the region. Reding said:

"With LTE technologies, Europe's research 'know-how' will continue to set the tone for the development of mobile services and devices around the globe, just as we did in the past decades with the GSM standard."

The EU reckons it will invest more than €700 million ($987 million) into research on future networks, half of which will be allocated to wireless technologies.

The EU approach is notable given the conundrum of a national broadband strategy in the U.S. In the U.S., the big elephant in the room is funding. Who will fund U.S. broadband movement and more importantly what's the business model to support it?

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com