A state-run laboratory has developed a fourth generation mobile communication technology that permits wireless Internet connection from vehicles traveling at up to 350 kilometers per hour, the lab said Tuesday.

The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) said the new Wibro Evolution System - jointly developed with Samsung Electronics Co. - can receive high-definition TV images at 20 megabits per second (Mbps).

It added that data transfer speed allows a 4 megabyte (MB) music file to be downloaded in 0.2 seconds and a 700 MB movies to be received in 37 seconds.

"The Evolution can be considered as the first truly 4G device and is expected to speed up communication convergence when it reaches the market in 2011," said ETRI president Choi Mun-kee.

The Daejeon-based laboratory said the development represents a considerable leap in technology since the existing Wibro service in use today can be received from vehicles traveling at 120 kilometers per hour maximum, with a data transfer speed of 5 Mbps.

ETRI added that the Wibro Evolution, based on orthogonal frequency division muliplexing access (OFDMA) is noteworthy because it is fully compatible and includes basic technology related to industrial standards to be accepted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for 2010.

These include advanced frequency overlay and multiple-input and multiple-output technologies.

Another advantage of the devise is that it can be used with existing mobile phones with minimal upgrades to the service provider system.