PDA

View Full Version : 4G Technology



Klaus
03-24-2010, 01:09 PM
Thought this was an interesting read.



4G in America: Lies, Lies, and More Damn Lies

Listen up America, by the end of this year, and most definitely during 2011, you’re going to be bombarded with advertisements that stretch across all forms of media, tempting you to hop on board a 4G network. Let’s get this out of the way right now: 4G, as the word is currently being used, is nothing but a marketing term.

The International Telecommunication Union, one of the bodies that is responsible for setting the technology standards that handset vendors and infrastructure providers follow so that their equipment actually works together, said in October 2009 that they’ve received six proposals for technology that deserve the 4G label, and that those proposals are “aligned around the 3GPP LTE Release 10 and beyond (LTE-Advanced) technology and the IEEE 802.16m technology”.

Let me break it down for you.

Clearwire is building a WiMAX network, otherwise known as 802.16e. The second version of WiMAX, called WiMAX Release 2, but technically known as 802.16m, is up for consideration as proper 4G technology. What’s the difference? 802.16m is supposed to provide up to 1 gigabit per second speeds while you’re sitting at a fixed location, and 100 megabits per second while you’re on the go. That’s a far cry from the “average mobile download speeds of 3 to 6 mbps and bursts over 10 mbps” that Clearwire said they’re achieving as of yesterday.

What about LTE-Advanced? That’s not even a standard yet, and it isn’t even expected to become one until March 2011. In Sweden, where TeliaSonera is currently enjoying the title of being both the first and only provider of commerical LTE service, people are already experiencing “data rates above 25 Mbps more often than below” and reaching “45 Mpbs downlink on some occasions”. That’s nothing compared to the 1.2 gigabits per second Huawei achieved today at CTIA using LTE-Advanced.

Back to the International Telecommunication Union, they’ve said that they’re not going to name which technologies are going to get the prestigious “4G” moniker until October 2010, so from a semantics point of view, anyone saying that they’re building a 4G network is being deceitful and are driven by a bunch of asshole marketers.

Now as for the speed increases that consumers are going to be seeing during the end of this year, and during the course of 2011, here are several things you need to know:

Devices like the HTC EVO 4G are going to be incredibly niche. That device in particular has a 3G CDMA radio that it will use for voice and text messaging, and a WiMAX radio that it will use for data. Reviews are not out yet, and I’m not a betting man, but I have a strong suspicion that battery life will be atrocious. Sprint (NYSE: S) is pushing themselves into a very uncomfortable corner. There are never going to be any pure WiMax mobile phones, and investing in CDMA is a waste of money at this point, so they’re going to have to depend on manufactures like HTC to continue making Frankenstein like devices supporting their dual network technology infrastructure to keep up with all the other network vendors.

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless, currently a CDMA provider, has committed to covering 100 million people with LTE by the end of this year. That’s brilliant because they’re finally going to start using a technology that the rest of the world has decided to implement, but for some odd reason they’ve decided to roll out LTE on the 700 MHz band while Europe and Asia are going 2.6 GHz. Now some countries are going 800 MHz for LTE, while others have been given permission to use the 900 MHz spectrum they already own to roll out LTE service, so we’re basically going to be in a situation where you’re going to have to make sure the LTE device you’re buying supports the country you’re in. We’ve only now started seeing devices that roam across global 3G frequencies, how long do you think it’ll be until you see a mobile phone sporting hexaband LTE?

Speaking about LTE handsets, Verizon said that they’re not even going to offer an LTE device until the middle of 2011. That’s a full year away. And like the HTC EVO, it’s going to be something that’s been hacked together, have terrible battery life, and will not be purchased by many people.

Then what about speed? This month Verizon Wireless said that they have hit “average downlink rates of 5Mbit/sec to 12Mbit/sec and average uplink speeds of 2Mbit/sec to 5Mbit/sec” during their trials in Boston and Seattle, which leads me to ask: why is it so much slower than what TeliaSonera customers are getting in Sweden?

Anway, T-Mobile (NYSE: DT), who was late to the 3G game, and has a limited amount of 3G handsets since they’re using an even weirder chunk of spectrum, the 1700 MHz band, is ironically in the best position right now. They’ve committed to HSPA+ and are going to be able to cover 185 million people in 100 markets by the end of this year. Their technology is supposed to reach theoretical speeds of 21 Mbps, which in reality will prove to be half that, but that’s still 10 megabits. Handset makers are also going to find it much easier to make HSPA+ products than LTE devices. Best thing about HSPA+ is that it supports the voice infrastructure that’s already in place. LTE, which was a data only network technology until about a month ago, needs new infrastructure equipment to support voice!

So there you go. To recap: 4G is a marketing term, real 4G doesn’t exist yet, Clearwire is good for data only, devices like the HTC EVO 4G are going to be few and far between, Verizon Wireless is building an LTE network that’s running between 25% to 50% slower than what TeliaSonera is currently achieving in Sweden, T-Mobile with their 21 Mbps HSPA+ technology is in a very awesome position, and AT&T … well, fuck AT&T.

They need to fix the 3G network they already have.
http://www.intomobile.com/2010/03/24/4g-in-america-lies-lies-and-more-damn-lies.html

Klaus
03-14-2011, 12:27 PM
Funny how Tmobile just decided to rename their 3G network to 4G...lol


During AT&T’s keynote at CES 2011, IntoMobile Editor in Chief Will Park and I propped our heads up from our laptops and thought, “What?!” when the carrier announced that its network was actually a 4G network and that a new “4G” device would be coming soon. The smartphone announced that same morning was the Atrix 4G, dubbed by AT&T and Motorola’s Sanjay Jha as the most powerful and advanced smartphone to date.

However, there was a small problem: AT&T’s network didn’t actually change, only the name did. It was no longer a 3G network. Since T-Mobile decided to change the name for its 3G HSPA+ network to “4G” – America’s largest, no less – AT&T decided to follow suit. It also doesn’t help that the International Telecommunications Union, or the ITU, decided to revise its definition of 4G to include evolved 3G networks.

PC Mag doesn’t mince words about AT&T’s new network, and its failure to deliver what we’ve come to expect as 4G performance:


AT&T is lying about 4G. Shamelessly. The company’s two “4G” phones and its “4G” modem don’t deliver 4G even by AT&T’s own wishy-washy standards. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as the 4G police, and AT&T is going to get away with debasing the term and confusing consumers to everyone’s disadvantage.

Harsh, but true. It continues:


AT&T has reached a new low, though, by delivering “4G” devices that are actually slower than the carrier’s own 3G devices. Yes, you read it correctly: for AT&T, 4G is a step backwards. In the past few weeks we’ve compared two AT&T “4G” phones and an AT&T “4G” modem against a few 3G devices.

It’s true that AT&T’s new Motorola Atrix 4G, the phone that also powers a devolved laptop, doesn’t perform or deliver the data speeds we’ve come to expect from a true 4G network. Its data speeds have been capped, and AT&T wasn’t shy about admitting that, either.

Who’s to blame for this 4G marketing-term mess? Is it Sprint who decided to call its first-generation WiMax network a 4G technology? Or is it T-Mobile when it decided to label its 3G network a 4G one because it delivered slightly-faster-than-3G speeds?

When you’re shopping for a new device, and the phrase “4G” is really being pushed in your face, be wary and do your research first. Which devices and networks really deliver the fastest and most reliable speeds? And what about your area?

The carriers have misappropriated the term “4G” and our only defense against this fraudulent marketing ploy is to educate ourselves.

http://www.intomobile.com/2011/03/14/att-4g-network-anything-but-4g/

Kyrillian
03-14-2011, 01:08 PM
I cannot wait to get rid of AT&T they are a crappy provider. Data isn't bad but I drop a ton of calls. If I used more than 30 minutes talk time a month, I might have switched already.

Klaus
03-15-2011, 08:54 AM
Now for some real numbers. The average download speed on a Verizon 4G LTE modem was 6.44 Mbps. Uploads came in at 5 Mbps, which is faster than what some people have with their cable/DSL modem at home. In next place was T-Mobile, 2.83/0.85 down/up, then AT&T with 2.48/1.05 down/up, and in last place there’s Sprint with 2.15/0.61 down/up. Now when talking about smartphones the tables turn. T-Mobile hits 2.28 Mbps down on average and 0.95 Mbps up. Next is Sprint with 1.50/0.56 down/up, AT&T with 1.45/0.97 down/up, and in last place is Verizon with barely 1 Mbps download speeds and 0.67 Mbps uploads.

http://www.intomobile.com/2011/03/15/has-fastest-4g-network-america-all-depends-if-youre-using-usb-modem-smartphone/

Ender
03-15-2011, 12:17 PM
So what your saying is Verison actually has the worst mobile phone network as far as speed, but T-Mobile has the best? Seems like nothing is wrong there with T-Mobile's claim to 4G if any other competitors are also making that claim.

I don't really care about the modem speeds since I don't use a 4G modem for anything.

Klaus
03-15-2011, 12:37 PM
Verizon has only launched 4G "LTE" for laptop modems at this point and it is the fastest (I get 20Mb down in Eagan). Smartphones Tmobile is best BUT no LTE to compare it to yet. The Thunderbolt (EVO on Verizon) is launching this week so we will see the speeds soon.

Personally, I don't really think anything over 1mb is needed on smartphones except on those rare occasions I want to watch HD youtube etc.

Klaus
03-17-2011, 10:33 AM
Verizon Thunderbolt came out today and it sounds like the 4G LTE is super fast.
http://phandroid.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/thunderbolt-speeds-179x300.jpg

Also sounds like Sprint is going to switch to the LTE technology for their 4G.

Naya
03-22-2011, 11:43 AM
So when the fuck are we getting a 4G signal in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area?

A couple months ago I tried my 4G connection out in Eden Prairie and it worked. And it's damn fast. Downloaded a couple application updates very quickly, and also browsed the internet with ease (much faster than without the 4G connection).

But if I drove 1/2 a mile away from where I was sitting (in any direction), I would lose the connection.

I've looked for details on this but haven't found much in terms of dates for when our area will have a wider coverage of 4G signal (as opposed to the blip of space I found in EP).

Any ideas?

Ender
03-22-2011, 11:45 AM
I get a 4G signal at work in St. Paul. I think it has only been upgraded in major cities so far... probably only the towers that serve St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Klaus
03-22-2011, 12:02 PM
Well here is the problem Sprint is facing.... They are using the WiMax version of "4G" and it is fast but lacks the ability to cleanly hand off signal to another tower. So it's great stationary but doesn't work well while moving. Sprint is considering a move to LTE 4G like Verizon (and most other carriers in the world) soon - this would only require a software upgrade to their towers but won't help any user with a WiMax chip in their phone (sorry EVO and Epic customers).

Ender
03-22-2011, 01:41 PM
I was fed up with the lack of battery life on my Evo anyway...