Is it really 4G? Your mobile provider says so

Canadian telecom carriers are rebranding their wireless networks as 4G following a change in the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) definition of fourth generation technologies. But questions are emerging about whether the networks qualify as “4G,” and whether customers need to be more astute about what their mobile operators say they’re offering. Late last year the ITU amended its definition of the technologies that the union says are 4G. Previously, the organization had said that only two technologies—LTE Advanced and WirelessMAN-Advanced (also known as 802.16m) qualified as “IMT-Advanced” technologies—a class of networking that the ITU says is 4G. But in a December 2010 announcement, the ITU changed that designation, saying that forerunners to IMT-Advanced, including LTE, WiMax, and “other evolved 3G technologies” can also be called 4G. “The term ‘4G’ has not been defined,” ITU spokeswoman Sanjay Acharya told The Wire Report. In its statement in December, the ITU said that “IMT-Advanced is considered as ‘4G.’” It added that “this term, while undefined, may also be applied to the forerunners of these technologies, LTE and WiMax, and to other evolved 3G technologies providing a substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial third generation systems now deployed.” The announcement opened the door for a number of service providers to begin branding their networks at 4G, or fourth generation. Canadian HSPA+ network operators SaskTel, Telus Corp. and Virgin Mobile Canada (owned by BCE Inc.) have announced in releases and promotional materials that their services are 4G. Satellite mobile-service operator Barrett Xplore Inc. also says its new network is 4G. Quebecor Media Inc.’s Videotron Ltd. also said in March that it is testing and plans to roll out a 4G network this spring. Videotron, like other carriers running HSPA+ networks, will use dual carrier technology that supports mobile network speeds of up to 42 Mbps. The ITU says the carriers are in the clear. Pre-802.16m technologies like WiMax, which Barrett xPlore uses, is 4G, the ITU said. According to the ITU’s December announcement, evolved 3G technologies can be categorized as 4G. “HSPA+ is an evolved 3G standard,” Acharya added. But Philip Solis, research director of mobile networks at ABI Research, said HSPA+ isn’t really a fourth-generation technology. From his point of view, HSPA+ is 3G because it’s based on CDMA, the third-generation network technology that followed analog and TDMA. But Solis added that it’s difficult to pinpoint 4G. “The thing is, there’s no official definition for 4G. The best we have is what the industry decides it is.” Michelle Englot, director of external communications for SaskTel, said CDMA and HSPA+ are different technologies, and HSPA+ meets the 4G mark. “The clarification, as we understand, it is that beyond-3G technologies, with a path to LTE Advanced, can now be named 4G,” she said. “That’s the reason we’re renaming it at this point.” But it also appears to be something of a marketing strategy. “We have competitors that use our network in the province that had rebranded to 4G,” Englot said. “We had customers wondering, why do they have a 4G network when yours is only 3G+?” Allison Lenehan, chief strategy officer with Barrett Xplore, said his company is confident that its new network technology qualifies as 4G. He said Barrett employs the 802.16e network protocol, the precursor to 802.16m (which the ITU says is 4G). Lenehan said HSPA+ operators are probably safe to call their services 4G. “If you go by customer experience, they certainly can argue that it fits the 4G category,” he said. HSPA+ is substantially faster than HSPA, he pointed out. HSPA provides data downloads at 14 Mbps and HSPA+ at 21 Mbps. Dual carrier technology ramps it up to 42 Mbps. Iain Grant, head of telecom industry consultancy SeaBoard Group, said by email that it doesn’t really matter whether carriers say their services are 4G. “The 4G definitional issue is more like the pressing question of how bright is **BRIGHT!** in a new laundry detergent,” he wrote. “Consumers need to use the same ‘take with a grain of salt’ filters they use for all other facets of their lives,” Grant said. “The new services are faster than the old. Ideally they will also cost less. Marketing needed a hook to help polish the new new thing. It found one and the ITU bowed to the forces of commerce.” news@thewirereport.ca

Is it really 4G? Your mobile provider says so

News | March 21, 2011

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