South Korea mobile network touted as world’s fastest

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s largest mobile operator is this week launching what it says is the world’s fastest wireless network.

SK Telecom Co. said Wednesday that the LTE-Advanced network can download data at speeds twice as fast as LTE networks and 10 times faster than third generation services.

With a transfer rate of 150 megabits per seconds, the network can download an 800 megabyte movie in just 43 seconds.

The service will be initially available in Seoul and its suburbs.

South Korea has witnessed rapid growth of the fourth-generation LTE, or Long Term Evolution, service as the country’s mobile phone users are quick to adopt faster wireless technologies

More than 60 percent of South Korea’s 33 million smartphone users have subscribed to the LTE service.

GSA, an association of network suppliers, projects that LTE networks will be available in 87 countries by the end of 2013.

With the launch of the new mobile technology, SK Telecom has begun selling the Galaxy S4 LTE-A smartphone made by Samsung Electronics Co. that can run on the fastest network.

The LTE-Advanced technology, however, has room for improvement. While it boasts the fastest download speed, its upload speed is same as LTE networks at 37.5 mbps.