The 4G war: has WiMAX won, or will Verizon choose LTE?

In a wrap-up of the state of 4G networks over at BusinessWeek, the battle between the three competing 4G network standards -- WIMAX, Long Term Evolution (LTE), and Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) -- is appraised, with WIMAX clearly edging out its other rivals. This could be a two horse race before long if Verizon chooses to back GSM's successor LTE over CDMA's sequel, UMB. That would leave Qualcomm without one of its most significant backers for CDMA's spiritual sibling, although it'll do just fine thanks to the multiple 4G patents it holds. Ultimately though, in all of this space there's very little discussion about what the consumer wants: do we really need two or three different standards that probably won't inter-operate, leaving us back at the square we've always been at? Frankly, for all the benefits that 4G is purported to bring, we'd like something a little more imaginative than the usual bickering amongst the big shots.

Update: Although it didn't come from VZW, last month Vodafone's chairman Arun Sarin made it clear that Verizon will go for LTE. Bad news for UMB!

[riggs @ Oct 29th 2007 2:21PM]

one question, for 4G networks why must there be more than one? wouldnt it be better to have one standard?

[Chrisphillers @ Oct 29th 2007 1:21PM]

I dont understand, I thought WiMax had been designated a 3G technology just recently??

[Brodie @ Oct 29th 2007 1:34PM]

It was.... Unless you're Sprints marketing department.

[Mike Klein @ Oct 29th 2007 1:32PM]

Advances in cellular technology are of no interest to me unless the carriers (except Sprint) change their TOS.

With ATT anything other than simple html/email is a violation and you can be cancelled.

So do I care if I have 4G from ATT...no. I've already dropped their data service from my wifi-enabled 8525 and am using Sprint express card evdo for mobile data needs. Being dual carrier sucks but at least I can get work done.

Was recently at a NavTeq conference talking to an ATT crony...er I mean rep...and she even denied they had this in their TOS. Liar...or stupid...or both.

[Mark @ Oct 29th 2007 1:48PM]

Sprint has already said they're looking to do a completely different model for WiMAX, with no contracts, no subsidized hardware, and if they're competing with DSL, they're not going to be too restrictive.

Let's wait and see.

[Mike Klein @ Oct 29th 2007 1:54PM]

What I meant in my post is Sprint is already liberal in their TOS. You can do whatever you want...and if you end up getting too piggish they throttle you.

Verizon doesn't seem to offer advanced phones to even tempt you into this...but ATT offers things like the 8525/etc. which scream USE ME TO MY POTENTIAL...but then later you realize you actually can't.

[Sam @ Oct 29th 2007 2:18PM]

I've been doing pretty much whatever I want using my Tilt and formerly my 8525 on an ATT unlimited data plan (Media Max 1500 for $29.99). When I'm home, I do multiple types of data from my phone: web, email, skype, im, maps, remote desktop, hamachi, slingbox and orb streaming, etc. When I'm on the road I tether it to my laptop and use the HSDPA network for many GB of data a month. The only thing I have not tried to do is bittorrent, since I think thats just tempting fate. They have never given me a hard time. While that may change at some point, its worked fine for over a year so I'm happy.

[Mike Klein @ Oct 29th 2007 2:33PM]

@Sam: naughty naughty.

I'm on a $45?/mo plan...and there is no tethering allowed. For this privilege you must pay $70/mo.

ATT knows how much bandwidth a phone can reasonable consume...tethering flags you easily. You also must've done some questionable stuff to get tethering going in the first place.

When you're at home you're on wifi...right? So this is a non-issue. It's using these svs over their cellular network that constitute a breach of contract (per att).

I want to be mobile for personal as well as business reasons. Knowing while I'm on the road and I get a support call and need to rdesktop/vpn into a machine...and can get axed...is a no-go for me.

I'm surprised you can do anything 'random' over the $29/mo plan...I thought this was for wap svs only?

[sr @ Oct 30th 2007 4:26AM]

Man stop whining. I know what the TOS say, but there's nothing stopping from doing anything including tethering. Your problem is that you are buying locked/crippled hardware that won't let you tether without paying tethering rates. Get yourself a nice unlocked Nokia N95 and you'll be tethering to your heart's content just don't get greedy and if you need to use a LOT of data just pay for tethering.

[sr @ Oct 30th 2007 4:29AM]

Man you really are behind the times. The $20 MediaNet plan gives you full internet with no ports blocked. The TOS says that you can't do this and that but there's nothing stopping you. I used 2GB last month on it and they didn't say anything. Slingplayer runs through data fast. Also they have data intensive apps like Cingular Video, and they wouldn't promote it if they didn't want/allow to use that much data. It's not that bad.

[equalizer @ Oct 30th 2007 12:50PM]

@sr: Your comments speak for themselves. You take the low road and I'll take the high road...thanks.

You apparently have a stronger sense of entitlement than I do. Good luck flouting the TOS.

[Mike Klein @ Oct 30th 2007 12:49PM]

@sr: Your comments speak for themselves. You take the low road and I'll take the high road...thanks.

[Jay @ Oct 30th 2007 3:55PM]

What affect will the auction of the 700 mhz band have on 3G or 4G?

[Limbah @ Nov 13th 2007 6:41AM]

Since LTE is frequency independent, it will be most useful indeed in not so densely populated areas where range is important. 700 MHz bearers in LTE will still give good throughput speeds, depending on bandwidth and output power configurations.

[Slvrgun @ Oct 29th 2007 2:23PM]

Sam if I were you I'd be trying to keep a low profile on my data plan unless you want to be a victim of ATT data plan sweeping. All your data usage will come back to haunt you.

[Tormod @ Oct 29th 2007 2:35PM]

1: WiMAX is per definition 3G, and competes (a little late) with HSDPA. If you consider it as early 4G, then of course it looks good...
2: UMB is a dead horse, as is CDMA.
3: LTE is the preferred evolution choice for most mobile operators in the world. I do not know what happens with your 5% of the world population in USA, then I really don't care.
4: 4G technologies are required to be patent free. Qualcomm does not have a business case.
5: 3G and 4G are strict definitions, not anything like "web 2.0".

[Ian @ Oct 29th 2007 2:55PM]

Here's an idea to prevent multiple noncompatible 4G technologies - how about if the FCC actually does something useful and orders the carriers to come up with one standard which they'll submit for FCC approval!

[simon @ Oct 29th 2007 3:02PM]

Do that and they'll still find a way to make it different than the rest of the world

[Che @ Oct 30th 2007 10:35AM]

Being different from the rest of the world isn't all that bad. All 3G technologies that I'm aware of (however branded) are based on the CDMA technology that was developed as one of the competing digital (2G) technologies that were used in the US while the "rest of the world" (meaning Europe and Africa, but not Asia) was using GSM that was mandated by government without competition. European 3G, like US 3G, is an improved version of the 2G CDMA developed for the US market where technologies were allowed to compete on their merits. Competition can be good even if it is inconvenient to have handsets that don't work on all networks.

[Mark @ Oct 30th 2007 12:41PM]

So we suffer and the rest of the world reaps the benefits? Sounds exactly like big phårmå.

[Mark @ Oct 30th 2007 12:42PM]

So we suffer and the rest of the world reaps the benefits? Sounds exactly like big phårmå.

[Mark @ Oct 30th 2007 12:42PM]

Oops, double post.

[Adoniteking @ Oct 29th 2007 5:52PM]

For those who dont know what 4G can do..
One benefit is the ability to send HOLOGRAMS..yes that right like star wars! some industries are already making use of the technology:http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9rQrUdJ-xY0