A Brief Overview of the Evolution of 4G - Pre-4G: WiMAX and LTE
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On the previous page, you found out why the 3G standard gained so much popularity and became one of the best performing systems in the world of mobile communications. With its UMTS foundation, 3G still has lots of potential and room for improvement. Having this in mind and considering the latest 3.5G technologies, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, abbreviated as 3GPP, was established.
In a nutshell, 3GPP is a collaboration between groups of associations in the field of telecommunications. Their main objective is to standardize and maintain the globally applicable 3G system specifications, always improve it with newer releases, but also maintain its basic foundations on the GSM. 3GPP shouldn't be confused with 3GPP2, which is another partnership project focusing on the same goals but on the platform of CDMA.
3GPP was founded in 1998 and since then they have launched numerous releases to improve 3G as per standard. Currently, 3GPP is working passionately on their latest release, called "Release 8," and expects to finish it around 2009. Release 8 is often referred as 3GPP LTE, or just LTE. It stands for Long Term Evolution.
If everything goes as planned, then LTE should expand the current UMTS standard of 3G to another new generation, which is obviously 4G. This project should bring lots of modifications and extensions. Let's point out some of its main targets: peak download rates of 326.4mbps for 4x4 antennas and 172.8mbps for 2x2 antennas; upload rates of 86.4mbps (both for every 20MHz of spectrum); sub-5ms latency for small IP packets; co-existence with traditional standards, such as the GSM and W-CDMA; increasing spectrum flexibility, and much more.
In short, all of the previous goals can be summarized in the following sentence: LTE aims to develop a simplified all-IP system (AIPN - All IP Network) so that transitioning from the traditional UMTS circuit can be done with ease. The development process of project LTE is supported by LTE/SAE Trial Initiative (LSTI). A lot of the important global operators and mobile communications corporations joined this coalition, such as Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, LG Electronics, Ericsson, Nortel, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia, Siemens, NTT DoMoCo, and many others.
The previously mentioned all-IP-based system assumes interoperability with any IP-based network, including WiMAX, WiFi, and wired networks. Its air interface is going to be called E-UTRA and it should be a particular wireless system. Thanks to the higher connection speeds, lots of companies are testing LTE with HDTV streaming during the LTE trials. AT&T, Verizon, Siemens, and Nokia are a few of them.
Another pre-4G mobile communication standard is WiMax, which is also known under its original name, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. WiMAX was developed in order to deliver "last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL anywhere, anytime."
The WiMAX community is really emphasizing the words "anywhere, anytime." Their main goal is to deliver high-speed Internet access (including VoIP, streaming video, videoconferencing, online gaming, etc.) all over the world at a competitive price point as compared to cable, DSL, and fiber connections. The key is that WiMAX means lower cost, wider coverage, and higher capacity.
Another factor that must be covered is the bandwidth offered by WiMAX. Users should expect an average of 1-5mbps depending on lots of other factors, such as the service provider, the distance of the user from the station or node, the number of users on the network, the frequency used, etc. In theory, the speed can reach up to 40mbps, however, that depends mostly on the business model of the provider. All in all, customers should expect "cable-experience" type Internet access speeds.
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