Will the real 4G please stand up?

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 Stephani Lewis, Marketing

Which carrier services are the “real” 4G and which are the “faux” 4G? It’s interesting to note that many carriers tout their 4G networks, but not all of these are using true 4G according to the authoritative definition published by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

In December, the ITU loosened its definition of 4G to include LTE, WiMax, and HSPA+ which helped some carriers to meet the standard.

ITU Redefines 4G. Again by Sara Yin of PC Magazine
Forget the 4G marketing argument, ITU acknowledges US carriers have 4G by Matthew Miller of ZDNet
ITU blesses U.S. data networks as 4G by Kent German of cnet

But according to Jordan Crook of Mobile Crunch, some are still falling short of the bar.

If you are confused about this, you are not alone. And to help U.S. consumers, Rep. Anna Eshoo, a California Democrat, this week introduced the Next Generation Wireless Disclosure Act, which would require wireless companies to provide complete and accurate information about the speed of 4G service before locking customers into a service plan. Specifically, the legislation would provide consumers with the following information:

1. Guaranteed minimum data speed
2. Network reliability
3. Coverage area maps
4. Pricing
5. Technology used to provide 4G service
6. Network conditions that can impact the speed of applications and services used on the network

This bill has sparked some conversation and there is no shortage of opinions on who is providing the REAL 4G experience.

New bill could finally reveal 4G speed by Athima Chansanchai of Technolog on msnc.com
New bill would require carriers to clarify 4G speeds by David Goldman of CNN
New Bill Will Stop Carriers from Lying about the iPhone 4G by John Brownlee of Cult of Mac

Does your carrier provide true 4G capability? Soon, U.S. consumers may not have to guess.

Tags: 4G network, carriers, smartphone