AT&T has apparently declared that HSPA, a 3G technology with 14.4Mbps speeds, is now 4G, reports PC Magazine.
AT&T’s definition is different from other carriers. The ITU recently liberalized their definition of “4G” to include LTE and WiMAX. Previously those technologies were considered “3.5G”, with true “4G” reserved for a new, and as yet unavailable technology called IMT-Advanced, which can deliver 1 Gbps (fixed) and 100 Mbps (mobile).
Soon after that decision by the ITU, T-Mobile began calling their planned HSPA+ 21 service as “4G”, since it could theoretically deliver speeds similar to WiMAX and LTE. Sprint’s CEO called its competitors’ networks “faux-G”. LTE and WiMAX are the next step up from HSPA+, but they both require a forklift upgrade of the entire network.
AT&T’s new Samsung Infuse 4G, which will be available on May 15, has a 4.5-inch display, the largest of any AT&T smartphone yet, and will support HSPA+ speeds up to 21 Mbps for $199 (with contract). Prior handsets topped out at 14.4 Mbps. According to AT&T, their new HSPA+ system is faster because it uses 64 QAM modulation. The slower HSPA+ 14.4 system uses 16 QAM modulation. Of course you’d have to be practically under the tower at 3am to get near those speeds.
The Motorola Atrix and HTC Inspire 4G, were originally shipped with HSUPA disabled, capping data rates at 384 kilobits/second, according to AnandTech. It’s mostly a software-based upgrade, rather than hardware-based, using MIMO antennas and other circuitry. All of AT&T’s “high-end” smartphones will be “4G” from now on, whether that means HSPA 14.4 like the HP Veer, Motorola Atrix, and HTC Inspire, or HSPA+ 21 like the upcoming Samsung Infuse, according to AT&T.
AT&T’s new Palm’s WebOS Veer 4G, will be available exclusively on the AT&T network. It is AT&T’s first WebOS phone, unveiled by HP earlier this year. It uses “4G” HSPA+ technology on AT&T’s 850/1,900MHz bands and foreign 2.1GHz bands.
AT&T was planning to launch LTE service later this year, using their (still unused) 700 MHz spectrum. Now, apparently, they don’t have to do that.
Everything – by declaration – is now “4G”.
T-Mobile has launched its dual-carrier high-speed packet access plus (HSPA+), effectively doubling data speeds over its ‘4G’ network. T-Mobile has taken two, 5 MHz HSPA+ downlink carriers — each of which can support theoretical speeds of 21 Mb/s — and bonded them together to double 3G network speed.
T-Mobile will most certainly leave AT&T’s HSPA+ network in the dust, says Connected Planet, because AT&T is using only one 5 MHz carrier. Verizon says their LTE network averages between 5 Mb/s and 12 Mb/s, using 2×10 MHz channels. Sprint uses only one, 10 MHz channel for their WiMAX service.
T-Mobile plans to expand 42Mbps services, and expects 140 million Americans will have access to these increased “4G” speeds by mid-2011.
AT&T, however, is using their plain vanilla 3G data service – HSPA – and calling it 4G.
Both LTE Advanced and WirelessMAN-Advanced (802.16m) are the real deal — ITU sanctioned 4G standards. Both will deliver up to 100 Mbps (mobile) and up to 1 Gbps (fixed). Other features besides raw speed, such as relay base stations, may prove to be more important.
Final ratification of the full IMT-Advanced technology family took place at the ITU-R Study Group meeting on November 22 and 23 in Geneva, Switzerland. An ITU committee finalized IEEE 802.16m this March
