4G-status update

Written by Julianus Yu

Where does the wireless industry stand with 4G mobile networks? If you're referring casually to the next generation of packet-switched mobile data networks, there is one answer. If you're referring to formal standards-based networks, however, there's another.

The informal term "4G" as it is most often used simply indicates the mobile IP networks the carriers are currently building. These are primarily WiMAX, based on the IEEE 802.16e-2005 standard, and Long-Term Evolution (LTE), a standard created by the global Third-Generation Partnership (3GPP) alliance. By contrast, the formal 4G definition refers to future networks built to specifications set by the International Telecommunications Union-Radiocommunication (ITU-R) sector. The ITU-R is reviewing six technologies for what will officially qualify as true 4G, a standard it calls International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)-Advanced, and reportedly will name those that qualify in October. Among those up for consideration is next-generation WiMAX, based on the emerging IEEE 802.16m standard, and a version of LTE called LTE-Advanced from the 3GPP.

Among the criteria for IMT-Advanced are 1Gbps stationary reception speeds and 100Mbps mobile speeds.

For now, the industry mostly uses the first definition above for obvious promotional reasons ("4G" sounds like a faster, better network than "3G") and because we are years from getting anything akin to IMT-Advanced up and running.

Jack Deal, a consultant at TechCaliber Consulting, updated attendees at the Mobile Explosion conference in San Diego last week on where the carriers currently stand with their "soft" 4G rollouts. He indicated that WiMAX and LTE technologies are liable to co-exist worldwide for some time, rather than one emerging as a clear "winner." Here's a sampling of the status information Deal shared:

WiMAX (802.16e-2005)

* U.S. carrier: Sprint/Clearwire joint venture
* Expected per-user data rates: 10Mbps max download, 5Mbps max upload
* U.S. service availability: 27 U.S. markets/30 million people; 80 markets/120 million people expected by year-end.

LTE

* U.S. carrier(s): Verizon Wireless, AT&T
* Expected per-user data rates: 12Mbps max download; 5Mbps max upload
* Availability: None yet. VZW to light up 25 to 30 markets (100 million people) in 2010. AT&T to start trials this year and begin deployment in 2011.

T-Mobile, Deal said, has gone relatively quiet about its 4G LTE plans and timelines in the United States