What does 4G mean?

By on Thursday, May 6, 2010 ·  

HTC
By Paul Kapustka

(NBC News) As the proud owner of a 3G smartphone, you might have considered yourself a member of the leading edge of wireless services users. Then you started hearing ads and reading stories about something called “4G,” and perhaps began wondering … what is it, where is it, can I get it, and do I want it?

Here’s a quick list that explains what 4G is, what it can do, why it’s the future of wireless communications, and where (and when) you might be able to get it.

1. What does “4G” mean, anyway?
4G is a marketing term that service providers are using to describe the “fourth generation” of wireless services. Such services may use different underlying technologies, depending on the provider, but they typically offer between four and 10 times the performance of “3G” networks.

2. What are the technologies behind 4G services?
The two main technologies are WiMax and Long Term Evolution (LTE). WiMax is a standard developed by the IEEE, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Development of the LTE standard is led by the 3GPP, an industry body for providers that use GSM, the current leading technology for cellular communications.

Both WiMax and LTE use advanced antenna technology to improve reception and performance. However, the technologies rely on different types of wireless spectrum.

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