4gWireless
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T-Mobile's HSPA+ blankets 85 million Americans in warm '4G' comfort
The 4G wars are really getting fierce, and we love the smell of bandwidth in the morning. The latest volley comes from T-Mobile, taking this opportunity to let us all know that its HSPA+ network is more pervasive than any other 4G offering in the nation, currently covering 85 million people in the States and growing to 185 million by 2011. Of course, HSPA+ isn't true 4G in that it's (theoretically) slower than LTE and WiMAX, a point that AT&T is surely still grumbling about. But, sometimes you have to go to war with the network you have, not the network you might want or wish to have at a later time.
Nexaria's NexConnect SOHO router does 3G and 4G on the trot, BYO modem (video)
Little wireless routers with built-in modems, like the MiFi, are great for getting easy access to 3G (or, soon, 4G) wireless on the go and for sharing it with a few friends. But, they're not exactly meant for sharing with the whole office. Nexaria's NexConnect 3G/4G SOHO router is (for small-to-medium offices, anyway) and it brings some impressive compatibility to the table, able to connect to 3G networks from AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, plus others, and even 4G WiMAX from Clear. How does it manage all this? Simple: you bring the modem. There's a PCMCIA slot on the top and a USB port on the back, either of which can be used to get this thing connected -- even Ethernet if you have a little Cat-6 lying around -- and setup is handled through a simple GUI shown after the break. The router is due to start shipping in May with a cost of $99.95.
China wants its 4G standard adopted globally
With 3G just getting a foothold in most of the world's wireless markets, China is preparing to leapfrog those efforts and get 4G pushed out to as many customers as it can. The China Ministry of Information Industry wants the 4G mobile standard it has developed adopted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as early as 2008. China is pushing the homebrew TD-SCDMA as the foundation for its 4G proposal. Regardless of what the ITU decides, we get giddy when any global market envisions wireless data speeds to the tune of 80Mbps. The only issue is that TD-SCDMA still has bugs that Chinese telecom personnel are still trying to quash; if they don't, the ITU may be frowning when China comes calling next year.
