Mobile giants join to advance mobile tech

Espoo (Finland) - A number of mobile phone companies, including Nokia and Ericsson, have come together to join in a new initiative to work on a new mobile framework.

They are setting the path for a new mobile network plan called "Long Term Evolution." The enhanced service will improve on over-the-air content like games, music, and Internet.

The LTE initiative will make mobile downloads quicker and will improve the cell phone Internet’s broadband capacity.

By coming together, Nokia and Ericsson hope to increase the presence of the emerging technology and make it more transparent. Other names in the new venture include Alcatel-Lucent, NEC and Nextwave Wireless.

"Today’s announcement is a step towards establishing more predictable and transparent licensing costs in a manner that enables faster adoption of new technologies," said Nokia’s intellectual property head Ilkka Rahnasto.

LTE is obviously just in its infancy, and the first commercial use of the new technology is projected to begin in about two years.