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| Yes! HSPA+ is Now Recognized as 4G |
T-Mobile is rejoicing the news that the
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) now recognizes that HSPA+ will be considered as 4G speeds. However,
how does each carrier define 4G? 4G can be applied to a substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial 3G systems now deployed. T-Mobile started getting some industry flak promoting the HSPA+ network as a 4G network. They would often use “4G” with the quotation marks in their advertisements as the acronym was not official by ITU standards. Sprint, Clearwire, and Verizon have busy promoting their WiMAX and LTE networks as 4G networks, T-Mobile was always questioned if its HSPA+ network was a truly 4G.
T-Mobile does have the largest 4G network as of today and the speeds are very fast for smartphone users, unlike Verizon which has an LTE network for PCs only.
The ITU is a coalition that defines how wireless standards such as 3G & 4G mobile broadband technologies used by wireless carriers are marketed to consumers, has now backtracked on its earlier definitions of 4G really is. The ITU declared last month that Sprint’s WiMax, T-Mobile’s HSPA+, and Verizon’s and AT&T’s forthcoming LTE networks do not meet 4G specifications despite the carriers’ marketing pitches to consumers. It now appears that 5G will now be equal WiMax2 and LTE-Advanced next generations of today’s LTE and WiMax networks.
