As a member of the RCR team for eight months now, I’ve gone through a major learning curve as I came from a world of journalism outside of telecom. In this business world, I often run across the same clichés used by execs to support their products such as preparing for the “data tsunami” by providing “robust links” and “exceptional backhaul.” This is often combined with just how innovative they say they are and how company representatives can’t tell you the trade secrets of the company, aka the “secret sauce.” In a series of articles this week, I’d like to discuss what I’ve learned so far and hopefully, to help clarify the often confusing web of acronyms and jargon inherit in telecom circles to those who are just arriving to the industry.
For starters, let’s begin with 4G. 4G has become a bit of a bastardized term overall. The fight between those in the industry that have created tech standards for what it actually needs to be in terms of speed, etc. to be defined as such and those on marketing teams for the big four carriers (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile) exposes a huge gap.
First of all, “G” stands for generation. So, all the marketing teams love to claim they are the next-generation network or have the next wave of device that is 4G. Here’s a hint: if you have an iPhone, it doesn’t mean you have 4G service. I own a Motorola Atrix 4G. It does not have 4G service, as I’m on the AT&T network.
The 2G experience (primarily 1990s) was enabled just to talk on the phone and the 3G buildouts (primarily 2000s) were made for optimizing the talk digitally. As we moved along the late 2000s, the iPhone exploded and the amounts of data required to keep it running was stretched to AT&T’s limit, as the carrier held exclusive control of the iPhone until February 2011. Once the world realized the opportunities and revenue that could be made from the iPhone, the smartphone market took off and led to increasing demand for 4G, which is optimized to handle data in a smartphone world.
I’m sure many who read this will dispute how 4G is defined. I’m sure a room full of experts would disagree, too. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a global standards body in conjunction with the U.N., initially stated that none of the technologies used (LTE, WiMax or HSPA+) met its criteria for 4G. Interestingly, the ITU has now opened up the definition to include all three but it begs the question of why the ITU acquiesced.
4G networks come packaged in three ways as either LTE, WiMax or HSPA+. LTE, aka long-term evolution, is the most sought after standard in 4G because it’s the fastest and has effectively led carriers such as Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility and Sprint Nextel to coin the LTE term as synonymous with 4G in many ad campaigns. The rollouts of LTE are ongoing, with CNET reporting last week that Verizon Wireless’s 4G LTE network will hit 100 markets this week.
Sprint invested much of its network in WiMax, which used to be something the company openly bragged about before LTE came to steal the technology’s thunder and ability to speed up a network.
AT&T and T-Mobile, however, run on what is known as HSPA+. While one could argue that it exists as a 4G technology by definition, it really isn’t in terms of service. Again, we return to marketing, as T-Mobile decided to re-brand its HSPA+ network to 4G, giving AT&T the idea to also remarket HSPA+ the same way. Investment by AT&T in 4G LTE is ongoing with a heavier purse than that of T-Mobile, as the company announced that it expects the 4G LTE service to launch in five cities this summer.
Of course, you’ve likely heard of the pending acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T. The proposed $39 billion agreement is still up in the air until it passes through the ultimate round of government scrutiny.
How do you define 4G? Did I miss something? Please let me know in the comments section.
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