3G is not exactly a thing of the past, but as tech addicts begin snatching up the next level of 4G all-purpose devices from the likes of Apple, Motorola and Samsung, their phones are all set to take on that inevitable leap to the next level of wireless network known as LTE. The fresh question on the tip of everyone's digital tongue is: "what will the nation's first LTE networks be like?"

With Metro PCS launching 4G LTE service in Dallas and Vegas, the big question is what kind of performance can be expected as far as throughput, signal performance indoors/on the go, and coverage area? With the launch right around the corner, Metro PCS still hasn't updated its website to say anything about 4G, LTE, the new Samsung 4G device or anything having to do with their next-gen network. Kind of an odd way of building the adequate marketing hype necessary to take control of their marketplace.

So how (and when) will Metro market its 4G product? Is there a 12-month plan to strictly carry phones and mobile devices, or will they try and break into the fixed RSU's that CLEAR offers for service with its WiMAX network?

Verizon Wireless– the nation's leading wireless provider and largest 3G network– still hasn't confirmed their launch markets or exact dates for their network upgrade;  although if we had to speculate, we think their LTE market dominoes might fall in the following order:

Once available in those cities, how will Verizon market the product in terms of coverage, capacity, etc? Most importantly, what will the pricing be? Any chance of unlimited 4G service? Probably not, considering the lack of initial spectrum per site, the 4G network from Verizon I am certain will all be pushed from the "Rule The Air" mentality where you sign up for Verizon because you "want the best" (and pay the most). Will Verizon offer a fixed product like the home Internet offered by CLEAR?

What do you think? Comment and let us know!

The clichéd story of the school bully isn't as far off as the elementary school playground. The time-old story of the failing and yet powerful thug taking the smart kid's homework has evolved into a slightly more civilized business arrangement. Intel, the desperate underachiever, has been trying to cover its shortcomings by purchasing technologies from other companies. In its most recent purchase, it bought out German chip-maker Infineon's WSL (Wireless Solutions Business).

This 1.4 billion dollar deal gives Intel a chance at gaining a foothold in the ever-growing wireless market, which until now has been dominated by Intel's more successful rival, ARM. The WSL Business makes both 3G and 4G chips for wireless devices including smart phones, laptops and netbooks. Intel sees this deal, set to finalize in the first quarter of next year, as an opportunity to further its wireless market interests, particularly in smart phones, whose sales rose over 50% in the last year.

But while this may seem like a beneficial move for everyone involved, WSL made up about one third of Infineon's profit last year, and its profits are only rising. It seems like Infineon is losing out on its main breadwinner to the tune of 1.4 billion, but the smart kid always loses in these urban fairytales. Occasionally, however, the bully meets an even bigger bully as may be the case in the future because Intel has invested heavily in Clearwire, a WiMAX company, which may very well soon go under to alternative LTE technology-based companies. In the meanwhile, Intel is still the big kid on the block.

And while Infineon nurses its bruises, Intel slowly morphs into what is becoming a compilation of technologies bought off other companies. Its most recent acquisitions include Texas Instrument's cable modem unit, McAfee's antivirus, Infineon's WSL, and all this within the month of August. And so the world watches as their childhood nightmares recur, if not with different characters - and everyone waits for next quarter's report card.

There are currently 101 LTE network deployments in 41 countries either in progress or already operational and another 31 operators in 15 countries testing LTE technology. That’s an astounding 71% increase in the last six months, putting the number of LTE networks out there to 132. LTE was only developed in 2008 and wasn’t available publicly until December 2009. On average, that’s over twelve networks committing to LTE each month and LTE promises to burgeon at an even steeper rate.

Many of the networks hopping onto the 4G bandwagon are choosing to pick up LTE technology over WiMAX or the latest 3G standard, HSPA+. WiMAX has over 500 networks set up worldwide, but that number is an accumulation from the past five years, averaging out to about eight new networks per month. LTE is growing at a rate 50% higher, easily making it the faster developing technology between the two configurations.

TeliaSonera, a leading telecommunications company in Scandinavia, is in the midst of deploying one of the world's largest LTE networks. They promise to blanket up to 218 Swedish cities with LTE by the end of 2011. This network is so revolutionary because it covers such a large area. Other countries may indeed have a sum total of more LTE networks, even covering more overall square miles. But these are small, isolated networks broadcasting over a condensed area, like one city. TeliaSonera is deploying a network that will cover many many square miles in one giant area, giving LTE the seemingly infinite range that we're familiar with in our 3G networks.

LTE technology is unique vis-á-vis the competition because it’s growing at the fastest rate. As of now, no other network is comparable to TeliaSonera in terms of widespread coverage over a singular area, but perhaps by the time Verizon rolls out nationally in the U.S. (set to cover most of the country by 2012) LTE will become the most available 4G technology.

Until now, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), the telecommunications regulator in the UK, has publicized the intention of designating the 2.6 Ghz spectrum for LTE- based networks. This has led many people to question the agreement with the Olympics. The spectrum was intended to be auctioned off to mobile operators by the end of 2011, and this will seemingly cause a disruption to those plans.

The UK is currently lagging behind the US on the technological front, as they are years away from the deployment of LTE or even the alternative, WiMAX. As of now, there are only plans for LTE service, but even that is going to take years, leaving plenty of opportunity for WiMAX manufacturers to jump in and organize their own 4G arrangement with a service provider, creating an alternative network.

A spokesman for Ofcom has come out against the fears of further delay of 4G due to the installment of 2.6 Ghz to the London Olympics. He claims that the winning bidder of the spectrum is unlikely to make advances to initiate deployment within a year after access to the spectrum, making it probable that the spectrum won’t be in use during those couple of months. Whatever the case, at least the UK will finally be doing something beneficial with their LTE spectrum.

Photo of what was believed to be the Samsung Craft until now (taken at CTIA show):

Photo of what this man claims is, in fact, the actual Samsung Craft that will be released by MetroPCS:

With the release of the Samsung Craft, MetroPCS will be the first cell phone carrier offering LTE technologies in the United States. Verizon will likely soon follow, as they intend to release LTE by 2011. Sprint is currently the only carrier claiming 4G technology, as they utilize WiMAX, not LTE, technology that is currently available. HTC created the first Sprint 4G phone, the EVO, but Samsung manufactured their second, the Epic.

“Implementation of this agreement represents a significant milestone in LightSquared’s plan to build the nation’s first wholesale only 4G-LTE wireless broadband network,” said Sanjiv Ahuja, chairman and chief executive officer of LightSquared. “Triggering this agreement will now give us the contiguous spectrum we need to support additional network capacity to meet the growing demand for wireless data.”

LightSquared is making a network that will allow smaller companies without their own network or that only have limited coverage to develop and market LightSquared’s service as their own, even with their own devices and plans. LightSquared is controlled by Harbinger Capital Partners, an investment banking firm. There is an option on when to implement the next phase of the plan (agreed upon in 2007) in which Inmarastat would make additional spectrum available for the lower cost of $115 million a year. The entire program is expected to take place within the next 3 years.

Let’s get to what consumers will want to know at the end of the day: What’s the deal with LTE and WiMax, and which one is better?

Speed: Both standards offer the same speed, up to 10 megabits per second. Even.

Cost: WiMax wins this one. Their license fees have generally been more economical. In developing markets with sparse telecom infrastructure, WiMax will definitely be a cheaper alternative over fixed wireless connections.

Technology: Not much of a difference. An even match.

Seniority: Wimax emerged into the market earlier than LTE, but just because they have been in existence for a longer period of time does not guarantee the ability to get the job accomplished in a superior manner. This one is a wash.

Prominence: LTE clients include Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent. Not bad. If market leaders are invested in it, others might be influenced to do so as well. Also, wireless network operators might be swayed to switch to LTE if device producers such as Nokia and Sony do not support WiMax. Before we peg WiMax as a pity case, let’s keep in mind that it has been deployed in 500 networks in 147 countries. WiMax technology will also be used for new laptops and netbooks. An even match once again.

Economies of Scale: LTE

There you have the facts. It appears that neither is superior to the other. However, stay tuned to see how events play out as LTE becomes further developed and deployed; and if the wireless 4G market changes.

Being a step behind in the game isn’t usually considered a good strategy decision, but T-Mobile is standing firm. They believe that they can still be on top of the game with 3G. “‘With HSPA+ we are in a very good position. We still have plenty of capacity, so we are competitive,” said Obermann. They plan on upgrading their current version of HSPA+ in the upcoming year, which is renowned for its top 3G performance. They’re projecting top speeds of 42 mbps, still less than half of LTE’s projected 105 mbps capabilities.

T-Mobile’s competitors are already way ahead of them. Verizon is launching LTE test sites in 25 different locations by the end of this year, already projecting that their 4G map will somehow exceed their 3G span. AT&T plans on launching their 4G service sometime next year. Sprint remains the only phone carrier in the U.S. to have already tested and launched 4G technology (Wimax) successfully.

Robert Dotson, CEO of T-Mobile USA, is singing a different tune than the one Obermann picked. He’s telling the media that the company can’t get access to a spectrum to provide the 4G service. T-Mobile is in talks with cable providers to get a hold of a necessary spectrum. He mentions Clearwire as one of the companies that they are having discussions with. Sprint is the majority shareholder of Clearwire, and this could make for an interesting partnership between two major phone carriers in America.

Before I started working for Quantum Networks, a Clear network partner, I didn’t. 4G was just tech talk to me; I didn’t need anyone to explain that dialect of geek to me. So what if it’s the speed of your internet connection? As long as I had the best and fastest, it’s all good. If you told me that these new Sprint products and Clear service was 4G and therefore the fastest around, I would have believed you. But, like I said, that was before I started working for Quantum Networks. I’m proud to say that not only do I now know what 4G is, but I also understand it well enough to explain it to you.

The first thing you need to know about 4G is that it’s the 4th generation of cellular wireless standards. It refers to speed, usually. With 3G it referred to speed and the capability to simultaneously use voice and data services. So, just in case you haven’t already figured out that your smartphone can make calls and get e-mails at the same, now you know. Your cellular service provider just made a nice commercial advertising that they are 3G which is “so much better and faster” than whatever you thought you had. It’s amazing how these companies can get away with advertising old news as something impressive. What’s really amazing is how most consumers don’t know any better.

Another thing you should probably be aware of is that the labeling of anything this year as 4G is a misnomer. There is no 4G available to the public yet. The only two technologies capable of providing 4G services are WiMAX and LTE. Differences between them include the facts that they run on different frequencies and are used by different companies. But, right now a big similarity is the fact that neither of them is even equipped to the ITU’s standardization of 4G.

The simplest way to understand the ITU’s classification of 4G is speed. Enhanced peak data rates must be 100 Mbps for mobile users and 1 Gbps for stationary reception, or in simpler words, they need to be a lot faster than what you have now, which is something more like 1 Mbps for mobile use if you’re lucky. It doesn’t take any math skills to figure out that the requirements for 4G are impressive. It’s a pity no one is offering real 4G service yet.

What they do is market faster peak rates as 4G while in actuality they are still more similar to 3G in speed. Clearwire, which offers WiMAX, is the fastest internet you can get right now with a peak mobile rate of 10 Mbps. WiMAX currently runs on IEEE 802.16e, a wireless broadband standard that didn’t qualify with the ITU’s standard of 4G. Their more updated version, IEEE 802.16m, which will be marketed as WiMAX 2, was approved by the ITU in June, but won’t be available to upgrade their current model until later this year. So, short story is that no one has the technology to provide legitimate 4G service. The good news is that it’s upgradable, so by the time that real 4G service is available, which they approximate at 6 months, you’ll have it. Until then, I hope you enjoy your advanced “4G” service.

Well, if you are one of those annoyed Clearwire customers, regardless if it’s out of faithfulness or convenience, you might as well know now that it isn’t going to get better anytime soon. As BusinessWeek reported just yesterday, you are going to keep suffering through poorly equipped billing systems. That’s a paraphrase, of course. Unfortunately, most business columns aren’t allowed to be frank with you anymore, they call it “bias”. Lucky for you, I’m biased to tell it like it is and let me tell you, if you are a Clearwire customer then you are very unfortunate.

Their software, the one that tracks customer purchases and is their key source to their customer care, is in desperate need of an update. A much needed update, as any Clearwire customer can tell you because their customer care was and will continue to be horrible. Remember those bad numbers I mentioned earlier? Well, where did their $125.9 million net loss stem from? It doesn’t look like it should be there when they are making almost as much as that in revenue. It will, though, when you take into account that they have spent $47.7 million in order to help recreate their software that does everything but properly manage their information. This software isn’t for them; it’s for you and the ability for Clearwire to provide you with the services that any business should be required to provide, like timely and accurate billing services and customer care. Amdocs, their software manufacturer, whose duty is to provide them with an accurate billing system, is a little bit behind schedule. A few months behind schedule, actually. And by the time they get around to pleasing their customers, LTE technology just might be consumer-ready and will have been launched. Oops, guess they misjudged that one.