What you need to know about 4G

Promises 100Mps data-transmission speeds on your mobile phone, but delivery is years away

By Denise Pappalardo , Network World , 05/21/2007

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If you’re wondering what fourth-generation wireless deployments and services mean to you, you’re not alone.

There’s plenty of talk about 4G, particularly since Sprint Nextel last year announced its $3 billion plan to build a 4G, mobile WiMAX network.

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But it’s not always clear what all the fuss is about. In a nutshell, users can expect wireless services that support data-transmission speeds as high as, and in excess of, 100Mbps, with the promise of QoS and even traffic prioritization, industry experts say. With such features, it becomes possible to imagine a mobile employee using a cell phone to participate in a video conference or tune into high-quality streaming video.

It won’t come cheap for carriers, however. According to the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), carriers in the United States are expected to spend $4.4 billion on WiMAX infrastructure equipment in 2008. Considering that WiMAX is only one potential 4G standard, industry watchers are expecting carriers to drop a lot of dough on 4G gear.

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Still, true 4G services are a long way from delivery. Here are some things you should know about 4G as you look to distinguish the hype from the reality of this next-generation technology.

Make way for 4G

Several technologies available today may play a roll in 4G as it develops. Here are five of them.

* Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and OFD Multiple Access (OFDMA). OFDM transmits data by splitting radio signals that are broadcast simultaneously over different frequencies. OFDMA, used in mobile WiMax, also provides signals that are immune to interference and can support high data rates. It is said to use power more efficiently than 3G systems while using smaller amplifiers and antennas. This all translates to expected lower equipment costs for wireless carriers.

* Mobile WiMAX is an IEEE specification also known as 802.16e and designed to support as high as 12Mbps data-transmission speeds. It uses OFDMA and is the next-generation technology of choice for Sprint Nextel and Clearwire Communications.

* Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), also known as CDMA2000 EV-DO, is an expected path to 4G for legacy CDMA network providers. It’s an IP-based technology that is said to support 100Mbps through 1Gbps data-transmission speeds. Also key for business users, it is supposed to be able to support QoS.

* Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless LAN technology supports two or more radio signals in a single radio channel, increasing bandwidth. MIMO does this by using multiplexing. MIMO was developed by Airgo, which has been acquired by Qualcomm. MIMO is expected to support data rates as high as 315Mbps in 36MHz of spectrum.

* Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a modulation technique designed for GSM/UMTS-based technology that uses OFDM and MIMO. It’s being developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and is said to support 45M to 144Mbps in test networks today.

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Comments (11)

RE: What you need to know about 4GBy Craig Stevens on September 7, 2007, 4:13 pmIt is a surprise that the other major players are so far behind Sprint Nextel.

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4G in the USABy Anonymous on April 19, 2008, 4:52 pmUnfortunately most carriers would rather do the wait and see for new technology. Plus carriers in USA have to deal with customers who refuse to purchase a NEW phone...

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