WiMAX, LTE, or HSPA+: 4G is still confusing

NEW YORK, USA: Many of us have heard of 4G, more aptly put, one can't help but hear with all the hype around the fourth generation telecom technology. However, confusion lumes large over the variants that can be classified under 4G.

For those who considered WiMAX and LTE as 4G technology, the recent International Telecommunications Union (ITU)report that said LTE-Advanced and WirelessMAN-Advance are the only two variants that can be classified as 4G was a shocker.

Also Read: NSN Alcatel and now Cisco: Is WiMAX losing grounds

Up until recently the ITU's official definition of 4G, mobile data speeds of more than 100 MBits/s, was a standard that no carriers met.

So what is 4G after all? Is it WiMAX, or LTE, or HSPA+! Yes, you read it right, HSPA+. There are carriers who also advertise their HSPA+ networks as 4G.

A recent Nielsen Company study finds that one in five consumers have not yet heard of it and half of those who have, do not understand the technology.

When asked to define 4G, more than half selected the original ITU definition, even though no carrier worldwide currently reaches speeds that high.

There were also many who thought that the iPhone 4 was 4G (it’s not), likely due to the naming conventions of the last several iPhone devices: iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS & iPhone 4, adds the study.

This even forced ITU to revise its 4G definition and include any technology that gives ‘meaningful improvement’ over 3G. Thus, all the above said three technology WiMAX, LTE & HSPA+, qualify as 4G technologies.

What so ever, the study also finds that almost three in 10 consumers surveyed said they were planning on buying a 4G device within the next 12 months.