{"id":45690,"date":"2012-03-14T14:00:16","date_gmt":"2012-03-14T12:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=45690"},"modified":"2012-03-14T18:14:00","modified_gmt":"2012-03-14T16:14:00","slug":"lte-4g-and-the-ipad-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/cellular\/45690-lte-4g-and-the-ipad-3.html","title":{"rendered":"LTE “4G” and the iPad 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Apple<\/a> announced the latest version of its successful iPad tablet PC, it made two hotly debated naming decisions: it called Long Term Evolution (LTE)<\/a> “4G” and didn\u2019t give the device a model number.<\/p>\n

4G is shorthand for \u201cfourth generation cellular wireless standard\u201d and is successor to the 3G and 2G standards.<\/p>\n

ITU definition<\/h3>\n

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU)<\/a> defined the term 4G to apply to wireless standards belonging to IMT-Advanced family, which excludes even LTE.<\/p>\n

Some doubt was cast on the ITU\u2019s resolve to stick to this definition when the organisation issued a confusing press statement in December 2010 apparently condoning the use of \u201c4G\u201d for LTE, WiMAX<\/a>, and \u201cother evolved 3G<\/a> technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, in response to direct questions, ITU spokesperson Sanjay Acharya explicitly told MyBroadband that the union does not regard LTE, WiMAX, and HSPA+<\/a> as 4G.<\/p>\n

\"Jannie

Jannie van Zyl<\/p><\/div>\n

A tale of two definitions<\/h3>\n

Vodacom\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0Jannie van Zyl<\/a> explained that there are clearly two conflicting views around 4G.<\/p>\n

On the one hand there\u2019s the ITU\u2019s formal definition that requires 4G technologies to offer 100Mbps at up to bullet train speeds and 1Gbps while walking.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the other hand we have marketers who cannot resist the opportunity to call current 3G technologies \u20184G\u2019 to get a marketing up on their competitors,\u201d van Zyl said. \u201cWe saw this recently when speeds of 21Mb\/s were sold as \u20184G\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

This conflict is evident even in Apple\u2019s own products and marketing. On its website, Apple refers to HSPA, HSPA+, and DC-HSDPA networks as \u201c3G.\u201d Yet in the latest update to its mobile operating system, iOS 5.1, Apple made it so devices connected to AT&T\u2019s<\/a> HSPA+ network show a \u201c4G\u201d icon.<\/p>\n

Should we give in and just call LTE 4G?<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe topic of how we define 4G is more of a source of amusement than it is a real issue for consumers,\u201d explains analyst and MD of World Wide Worx<\/a>, Arthur Goldstuck<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn South Africa it became an issue, firstly because of Cell C<\/a> blurring the lines with their \u20184GS\u2019 term, and secondly because the Advertising Standards Authority has seen itself as the arbiter of such definitions in advertising materials,\u201d said Goldstuck.<\/p>\n

According to Goldstuck, HSPA+ and basic LTE are marketed in the USA without much controversy because the focus is on generational speed increments rather than on a very precise definition.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, if it represents a step change over 3G, which typically offered up to 7.2Mbps in the HSPA modems,\u201d Goldstuck said, \u201cthen the market is happy for it to be called 4G.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 21Mbps, HSPA+ offers up to three times these speeds, which Goldstuck said makes it qualify as a step change in the consumer mind.<\/p>\n

\"Arthur

Arthur Goldstuck - World Wide Worx<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAs with the Americans, if you want 4G as in a fourth generation experience, you can have it,\u201d Goldstuck said. \u201cIf you want it as in something officially defined as 4G, you have up to a year to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Zyl differed from Goldstuck, explaining that as an engineer he believes we should stick to formal definitions, but that he also realises it\u2019s a losing battle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe a practical compromise would be to call any technology that can deliver at least 100Mbps \u20184G\u2019 and thus LTE (technically 3.9G) would qualify.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until the ITU decides otherwise, this cannot be formal, van Zyl said, but he added that if as an industry they can agree to call LTE at 150Mbps and HSPA+ at 168Mbps \u20184G\u2019, and nothing else, they could have a workable solution.<\/p>\n

Related article<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s official: LTE, WiMax and HSPA+ not 4G<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

iPad 3 confirmed for South Africa<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

iPad with LTE: what does it mean for SA?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If Apple says LTE is 4G, does that make it so?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":45696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,29],"tags":[2542,605,3006,35,5234,2438,477,1009,2490,41,2024],"class_list":["post-45690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cellular","category-gadgets","tag-4g","tag-apple","tag-arthur-goldstuck","tag-headline","tag-international-telecommunications-union","tag-ipad-3","tag-itu","tag-jannie-van-zyl","tag-lte","tag-vodacom","tag-world-wide-worx"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45690"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45690"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45698,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45690\/revisions\/45698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}