4G WiMAX and LTE Latest Updates

The race for 4G technology is really starting to heat up as CLEAR and Sprint continue to expand coverage, Sprint released their much anticipated HTC EVO, Verizon announced LTE test markets and reports LTE capable phones are in the works! Below are the latest updates in the world of 4G:

WiMAX Coverage News:

Both Sprint and CLEAR have been working hard to bring 4G WiMAX to the following new markets, Richmond, Salt Lake City, St. Louis, Kansas City and expanding coverage in Baltimore. CLEAR has also expanded coverage to Merced and Visalia, California; Eugene, Oregon; and Rochester and Syracuse, New York. Throughout the summer they plan to have coverage in 20 more major cities. On a more unofficial note, there have also been reports from customers in parts of New York and California that they are seeing 4G on their devices, despite the fact that 4G has not yet launched there.

WiMAX Equipment:

On June 4th, 2010 was the date that the HTC EVO was released, the worlds first 3G/4G capable phone! This phone is all about changing the way people use their phones with features such as the mobile hotspot (allowing you to use your EVO's 3G/4G connection to share with up to 8 devices via wireless). The device has been so popular, you currently can't find it in any stores as we all wait anxiously for another shipment. If touchscreen only devices aren't your style, Samsung has come to the rescue with the announcement of the Samsung Epic. This device will be the first 3G/4G phone with a full QWERTY keyboard.

As for WiMAX aircards, Sprint's Overdrive had gotten off to a rocky start because of some firmware issues, however, they have released a new firmware version 2.06.06 which has fixed the issue's users were complaining about. When ordering the Overdrive from 3Gstore, we make sure that every Overdrive shipped has version 2.06.06 pre-installed for you! Sprint has also released the new 250U 3G/4G aircard, which is the first device that includes the option for both a 3G and 4G antenna port (antennas currently work on 3G only). CLEAR announced that they'll be releasing 3G/4G portable hot-spots in July, which have been demanded ever since the popularity of the MiFi2200 3G devices.

LTE News:

As Sprint and CLEAR continue to expand coverage, Verizon has been focusing on their final testing phases (user trials in 5 markets - Boston, Seattle and 3 other unnamed cities). In early May, Verizon showed off their LTE network for the first time in Boston and the results were impressive. During the demonstrations they managed to get an 8.55Mbps download speed and a 2.8Mbps upload speed. Rural users can also start getting excited because they plan to partner with local companies that already have towers and backhaul available - Verizon will provide the LTE equipment and let the local providers manage the towers and backhaul. This strategy is planned to help them meet their goal of covering their entire 3G footprint with full 4G LTE coverage by 2013. Tips are also rolling in, rumoring that Verizon will be launching their 4G LTE service in 25 markets on 11/15/10, with several LTE handsets to follow on "Black Friday", which this year falls on 11/26.

LTE Equipment:

With the rumored LTE release date of 11/15, reports of various handset manufactures developing LTE handsets continue to roll in. RIM (manufacturers of Blackberry) is currently working one of the first LTE handsets for Verizon's LTE! This phone is being dubbed the BlackBerry Storm 3 has some impressive rumored spec's. The phone supposedly will feature a 1Ghz Processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. Aside from the storm there might be up to five other LTE phones by next May, from manufacturers such as Motorola, HTC, LG and BlackBerry.

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Things are certainly heating up as we move through the summer months! We're sure there will be plenty of new devices in the upcoming months and can't wait to see Verizon's network first hand. That's all for now, 4G-lovers, but keep coming back for the latest updates at 4ginfo.com, and join in the 4G discussion on the 4G Forums!

2009 in Review: The Year of 4G!

This has been a really exciting year for 4G services! This time last year, 4G services were available in just a select few markets, and after just one year Sprint/CLEAR have expanded their WiMAX coverage to over 30 markets, several new devices made their debut, and Verizon made sure we didn't forget that LTE is on the way. Lets take a look at the highlights of 4G in 2009!

• Sprint/Clearwire Expands 4G WiMax Coverage To New Markets:

• Abilene, TX
• Amarillo, TX
• Atlanta, GA
• Austin, TX
• Bellingham, WA
• Boise, ID
• Chicago, IL
• Corpus Christi, TX
• Dallas / Fort Worth, TX
• Greensboro, NC
• Honolulu, HI
• Killeen, TX
• Las Vegas, NV
• Lubbock, TX
• Maui, HI
• Midland / Odessa, TX
• Milledgeville, GA
• Philadelphia, PA
• Portland, OR
• Raleigh, NC
• Salem, OR
• San Antonio, TX
• Seattle, WA
• Waco, TX
• Witchita Falls, TX

• Cradlepoint integrates support for the new 4G devices onto their router line with a firmware update.

• Sprint, Clearwire’s largest shareholder, expanded it’s network onto the Clearwire infrastructure to become the first national 3G/4G carrier.

• Sprint announced the U301 3G/4G Hybrid Modem, the first Mac-compatible 3G/4G Hybrid device

• Samsung announced and released the Mondi, the first "MID" or Mobile Internet Device to work on the Clear network.

• Verizon completed its initial tests on its LTE network in two lucky cities, Boston and Seattle, and promised coverage to 25-30 markets in 2010.

Going into the new year, we are looking forward to seeing many new developments and advances in 4G. Things that we will be watching for this year include:

• CLEAR and Sprint 4G further expanding their 4G coverage to new markets
• WiMAX-enabled phones (Sprint & LG To Unveil WiMax 4G Phone at CES?)
• Verizon to launch their 4G LTE service
• 3Gstore.com (4Ginfo's sister site) will begin selling Clear & Sprint 4G products and services in the very near future - check 3Gstore.com/clear for updates!
  

It looks like 2010 is going to be a very exciting year for 4G services, so stay tuned for the latest news & information!

Summer of 4G Recap - Whats New With WiMAX and LTE

These past few months have been exciting times for fans of 4G, from the early adopters who've been waiting for 4G for years to the folks who hadn't even heard of the technology until it became available in their city. We've seen expansion like crazy, the forming of strategic partnerships, and the beginning of a long drawn out battle between WiMAX and LTE for 4G supremacy. Need to catch up on your 4G news? Here's what's been going on this summer:

Clearwire greatly increased the size of its slice of 4G pie by expanding into Las Vegas, Atlanta, and several other cities this summer.

Sprint, Clearwire’s largest shareholder, expanded it’s network onto the Clearwire infrastructure to become the first national 3G/4G carrier.

Comcast Cable and Time Warner Cable, who are both investors in Clearwire, launch (and announce plans to do so) their 4G service on the Clear networks.

Cradlepoint integrates support for the new 4G devices onto their router line with a firmware update.

Samsung announces and releases the Mondi, the first "MID" or Mobile Internet Device to work on the Clear network.

Northern Michigan University becomes one of the first educational institutions to employ WiMAX as an alternative to campus wide Wifi hotspots.

Verizon also joined in the fray, completing its initial tests on its LTE network in two luck cities, Boston and Seattle.

For more updates on 4G, and for all the current news, check back with us regularly here on the 4G blog, and at 4ginfo.com!

In a world where "can't we all just get along?" is nothing more than a meaningless cliche these days, 4G device manufacturers are actually doing something along those lines: creating 4G products that will feature both LTE and WiMAX capabilities!

Not all vendors will create devices like this, and not all carriers will offer them. But Intel and Ericson have already been making chips for laptop companies that work with LTE and WiMAX, and we'll be seeing the same cool feature available in everything from cameras to smartphones to video cameras at some point.

Having the ability to use your device on different networks is huge for consumers. You'd have the option of signing up for both services and being able to access either one depending on which coverage area you're in, and canceling service with one provider to switch to another wouldn't require a new modem/laptop/etc. The question now is whether LTE-only and WiMAX-only service providers (i.e. Sprint and Verizon) will be willing to sell devices that don't lock you into their service.

LTE is still years away from becoming available to us patient USA-ers, but it DOES work - and here's some proof!

Last month we reported on a test that Nortel and LG Electronics ran up in Ottawa, when they took a computer on a cruise through town at 100km/hr to test an LTE connection. The experiment was a success: they stayed connected as they drove and peaked at 50 megabits per second download, and even more impressively, their upload speed was 20 megabits/second.

3G4G blog unearthed a very cool video of the test drive and some cool commentary from Nortel themselves. Check it out:

We've known for quite some time that the timetable for LTE was significantly different from WiMAX - carriers have already started rolling out WiMAX service around the world while LTE was being talked about as a service that wouldn't be ready until about 2012. Now, though, that 2012 date is starting to sound a little optimistic to some experts.

Here is what wireless consultant Andrew Seybold had to say about the matter at his conference (which is being held in conjunction with the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment conference in San Francisco):

• There is no huge rush on the part of the carriers to provide 4G services
• LTE likely wont become available until 2015
• LTE download speeds of 71-143 Mbps are entirely theoretical and will be considerably slower when they are applied to the real world.
• Handset and chip-makers are pushing to get LTE out there, not carriers

In other words, there is no real threat of LTE usurping 3G technologies like EVDO anytime soon. However, Seybold failed to mention anything about how WiMAX will effect 3G technologies, though - which is unfortunate since that is the technology that is actually becoming available as we speak...

USA users of carriers like Sprint and Verizon have long wished their cell phones and broadband modems were based on the GSM format so that they could have more flexibility in overseas usage, the technology that most of the rest of the world operates on. Users of non-GSM based wireless products who wish to use their service overseas are either unable (such as EVDO broadband pretty much anywhere but North America) to do so or forced to pay ridiculous roaming fees for the "privilege" of being able to use their phone or internet service that they are already paying for.

We've heard a lot of complaints about this issue, and there are already people wondering if that might change when WiMAX and LTE are debuted. The good news is that WiMAX does not require a physical token like a SIM card. So long as your WiMAX device/internal modem operates on the proper frequency, you could sign up with whatever provider suits your needs on a temporary basis. Unfortunately, it doesn't look as if LTE providers are going to be straying from their SIM-based format as they make the gradual move from 3G to 4G. If you go with LTE, you will remain saddled with the usual 1 or 2-year contract and have to deal with the same pains as always.

Will this prevent people from signing up for LTE when WiMAX is available as an alternative? Or will a SIM-free solution for LTE be developed? There will be some for whom being able to sign up with various providers will be a huge factor, but I'd imagine that the majority of 4G users are going to be more focused on coverage areas and broadband speeds (not to mention bandwidth limits, but let's not go there just yet).

WiMAX is really picking up steam, but remember: there are TWO upcoming 4G broadband technologies.

Intel, who is already one of the biggest investors in WiMAX technology, and news has been released that they have invested an additional $3 million in the startup wireless provider Aicent Inc (based in San Jose, CA). Aicent will use the money to further research both WiMAX and LTE technologies, an interesting tactic we haven't seen from Sprint, Verizon, or Altell. Aicent has announced plans to start rolling out WiMAX in the latter half of next year, but other than their promise to "research" LTE, there doesn't appear to be any info on when - or if - they might be debuting that service.

A good majority of this blog has been dedicated to WiMAX, but not because we're forgetting about LTE! There simply hasn't been much to discuss in that arena, largely because it is much further behind WiMAX in terms of projected debut date and how far along they are in their development of the technology.

Today, though, we've got a little LTE update! Nortel and LG Electronics ran successful tests of the network in Ottawa, streaming HD video (good luck trying to do that on with 3G!) over a network consisting of multiple cell sites and sectors served by Nortel's eNodeB LTE base station and ATCA-based Access Gateway. They used an LG device (no elaboration was provided on exactly what the device IS, unfortunately) while traveling in a vehicle going up to 100km/hr (AKA about 62mph for our sorry non-metric country), proving that the service can continue connecting to and transmitting from different cell sites seamlessly as it travels through coverage areas.

This news is very encouraging for the future of LTE, and it's nice to see some concrete evidence about WiMAX's competitor. Nothing advances technology (and hurries companies up!) like competition.

Discuss Nortel's Ottawa tests on 4G Forums

LTE service seems a long way off, but it's still ahead of fixed-wired systems when it comes to that coveted 100+ Mbps benchmark. GSMA is projecting that LTE will be deployed and allowing consumers to access speeds of up to 186Mbps (the max speed LTE's been tested to reach) before traditional broadband providers are able to improve their fiber optic cables. As you can imagine, it is very costly and time-consuming to replace an entire network of physical cabling, while creating new wireless networks obviously doesn't require such physical labor and is much more cost-effective. Wired broadband providers have a HUGE job ahead of them as the wireless industry goes 4G - it seems inevitable that wireless service will surpass traditional fixed-wired offerings quickly as 3G gives way to 4G.

LTE technology, the WiMAX competitor and 4G network that carriers such as Verizon, China Mobile, and Vodafone have hitched their wireless star to, isn't expected to be widely available until 2010 at the earliest, but tech research experts are already predicting it to be a huge hit with subscribers. The ABI Research Institute is estimating that 32 million people will be subscribed to LTE service with one of the carriers by 2013 - just a few short years after it becomes commercially available.

The majority of those future subscribers will likely hail from Asia, mainly because they don't currently have much in the way of 3G technology. With their lack of 3G services, it seems to make sense that carriers would opt to forgo all the research, development, and implementation that equipping the area with 3G would entail in favor of waiting just a couple years to get a 4G system rolling. The rest of the 32 million subscribers are expected to be split between North America and Western Europe.

It's interesting that ABI is expressing such lofty confidence in the market share potential of LTE. I'd like to see their thoughts and predictions regarding Sprint's (and others') future WiMAX services and predict the popularity of that side of the technology.

Verizon and Alltel have been working on developing products to utilize the upcoming high-speed data service LTE for quite some time now, and now another carrier has jumped on board the popular LTE train: MetroPCS announced during their 2nd quarter conference call that they too have decided to use LTE for all of its 4G technology plans.

President/CEO/Chairman Roger Lindquist expressed his excitement about his company's plans, saying "...4G represents a great opportunity for us because we see that as capacity expansion, higher data rates imply capacity expansion, not just combining speed and download capability.” During the call, Lindquist also said that he anticipates that we'll be seeing "interesting developments" in the arena as soon as within the next year, though he didn't elaborate on what those developments might be. Beta testing? Unveiling products? We shall see...

4G technology is on the way, and while most of us tech-heads are excited about the advent of the promised high speeds and new devices, there are some folks that aren't so sure about the timing of the release and the necessity of the rush.

One such skeptic is Andrew Seybold of fiercewireless.com, a site that focuses on everything wireless, from handsets to the latest 4G info. He offers some interesting arguments on the subject, considering whether perhaps carriers should instead be focusing on the advancement of 3G and if LTE will really be able to perform as advertised based on the spectrums on which it operates:

"We are hearing wonderful things about LTE, but the data rates and capacity increases being bandied about are theoretical and based on using 20 MHz of spectrum. One reason the WiMAX community can claim data speed and capacity gains over today's EV-DO Rev A and UMTS/HSPA is due to the amount of bandwidth it uses. EV-DO Rev A occupies only 1.25 MHz of spectrum per carrier and UMTS/HSPA occupies 5 MHz per carrier. The WiMAX community is basing its claims on bandwidths of 8 MHz or more. If you normalize these three technologies in 10 MHz of spectrum, you find they offer about the same data rates and capacity.

Not many network operators have 20 MHz of contiguous spectrum to use for LTE, but LTE can run in any amount of spectrum from 1.25 MHz up to 20 MHz so it will fit almost anywhere. The caveat is that when LTE is used in less than 20 MHz of spectrum, data speeds and capacity are lower than the published specifications and, in most cases, are about the same as the next revisions of UMTS/HSPA+ and EV-DO Rev B."

Andrew's essential point here is that it may be unlikely that carriers will have the necessary capability to operate on the 20 MHz spectrum and that if it is running on a lesser spectrum the promised speeds will simply not be achievable. His feeling is that Verizon, AT&T et al are rushing LTE to compete with Sprint/Clearwire's soon-to-be deployed (in beta form) WiMAX when their time and resources would be better spent continuing to advance 3G technology.

Discuss this subject and all your thoughts on the LTE/4G developments over on 4Gforums.com!

There hasn't been much 4G info about which to blog of late, because, well, at this point in the development of the various technologies there simply isn't much to discuss just yet.

AT&T satisfied our hunger for high-tech scoop this week, though, by making a bold move in attempts to block Sprint and their new partner Clearwire from rolling out their much-anticipated WiMAX technology in the USA. AT&T appealed to the FCC to keep the Clearwire/Sprint merger from going through - neither carrier could carry out the rollout plan without the other - essentially to buy themselves some time to introduce their own 4G broadband service, LTE.

So long as the FCC ignores AT&T and allows Sprint/Clearwire to move forward, it is expected that the service could become available in select USA metro areas by the end of the year - DC, Chicago, and Baltimore, to be exact. Of course, there are no devices available to the public market at the moment that would allow people to actually access the high-speed network, but various devices DO exist. At this year's CTI conference, some lucky EVDOinfo-ers got to check out some WiMax-compatible hardware that will presumably be available once the technology itself is made available. Motorola has manufactured a WiMax router and Franklin Wireless has created a USB modem that will work with both the WiMax network AND EVDO Rev-A, - a very exciting prospect, particularly because WiMax won't be available everywhere for quite some time.

Stay tuned for an update on AT&T's bid to keep WiMax at bay - and to keep up to date on future availability of 4G devices and services!

Verizon Selects LTE As 4G Wireless Broadband Direction

Technology Platform to be Trialed in 2008

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Verizon today announced plans to develop and deploy its fourth generation mobile broadband network using LTE – Long Term Evolution – the technology developed within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards organization. The selection of LTE provides Verizon and Vodafone – joint owners of U.S.-based Verizon Wireless – with a unique opportunity to adopt a common access platform with true global scale and compatibility with existing technologies of both companies.

Verizon and Vodafone have a coordinated trial plan for LTE that begins in 2008. Trial suppliers include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia-Siemens, and Nortel. These suppliers, along with others in the world community, have contributed significantly towards development of the standards in 3GPP. Discussions with device suppliers have expanded beyond traditional suppliers such as LG, Samsung, Motorola, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson, as consumer electronics companies anticipate embedded wireless functionality in their future products.

Working within 3GPP, Verizon and Vodafone, as well as a broad group of infrastructure suppliers, device suppliers, and technology companies from around the globe, have advanced the standards to enable a technology that will deliver unprecedented wireless broadband service for high performance mobile computing, multimedia, and consumer electronic devices and applications. The technology is designed to deliver mobile data networks with higher speed and throughput performance, lower latency, global roaming, and improved efficiencies.

Today’s LTE announcement builds on Verizon Wireless’ technology leadership as the first company to launch high-speed wireless broadband service in the United States using CDMA Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) technology. Its data innovation and leadership have been marked by the introduction of new multimedia handsets and innovative applications such as V CAST Music, V CAST Video, VZ NavigatorSM, V CAST games, e-mail, Internet access, and picture and video messaging on a variety of devices, including handsets, PDAs and laptops.

Richard Lynch, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Verizon Communications observed that “while this next generation technology will be exciting to develop and deploy, it comes at a time when we are adding record numbers of customers to our existing CDMA2000 1x and EV-DO networks. We relish the challenge of preparing for the time when our customers start demanding such 4G capabilities, while continuing the expansion and operation of our existing technologies for many years to come.”

“The company’s move toward a 4G network is driven by our vision of pervasive wireless Internet connectivity and mobility,” said Lynch. “Customers want to be truly untethered with advanced communication devices that provide functionality comparable to today’s wired networks – whether it’s downloading or uploading video, gaming, downloading their favorite music, or social networking. They want to be able to communicate in new and innovative ways whenever and wherever they choose around the globe. A number of factors are setting the stage for our 4G network migration; most importantly, our view of customers’ evolving appetite for more information, entertainment, and functionality, combined with an increasing customer expectation for easy access, high speed, easy handling, and seamless mobility. With a host of new devices and applications, and a particular focus on embedded wireless in virtually every piece of electronics you buy in any store, we believe LTE is the best technology with global scale to deliver on the promise.”

“Vodafone is delighted to be working alongside Verizon in the development of LTE technology, and we’re looking forward to assessing the results of the joint engineering trials. We fully support Verizon’s decision to select LTE as their next generation wireless broadband solution,” said Steve Pusey, Vodafone’s global chief technology officer. “We expect LTE to form a key part of Vodafone’s future technology strategy, and the prospect of moving towards a common platform with Verizon Wireless is an attractive long-term goal. LTE will build on the capabilities of Vodafone’s 3G broadband High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) network technology, which is available across the entire Vodafone 3G footprint.”

“Today’s 4G announcement, coupled with our Open Development initiative announced earlier this week present a major growth opportunity for Verizon Wireless,” said Doreen Toben, chief financial officer of Verizon. “Fourth generation’s higher data speeds will usher in a new era of wireless applications and appliances, all of which can benefit from connecting to the nation’s premier wireless network.”