LG has upped the ante in the hyper-competitive 4G arms race after successfully testing the world’s first (functioning) Long Term Evolution (LTE) cell phone chip. The 13×13mm integrated circuit exhibited impressive data speeds in its initial trial, topping out at 60Mbps downstream and 20Mbps up.

Still in its planning stages, the Third Generation Partnership Project intends LTE (successor to GSM/UMTS) networks to compete head-to-head with wired broadband, offering a “true” high-speed wireless alternative. Other goals include improving wireless efficiency, lowering costs, and providing for better integration with open standards.

Looks like LG and Co. are off to a solid start, especially when considering that LTE chips are theoretically capable of even higher data transfer speeds. Now we just have to wait patiently for US mobile carriers to roll out their respective 4G networks…in the next couple of years.

[via MobileBurn]