WiMAX & LTE Technology Does Not Qualify As 4G Mobile Broadband

LTE & WiMAX Cannot Be Classed As 4G

A new report published today by a leading telecoms body has ruled that Long-term evolution (LTE) and WiMAX technology do not qualify as 4G technology.

In the report, The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) reiterated its initial findings and confirmed that broadband providers in the UK should refer to both technologies as 3G and not 4G.

The ITU recently completed their own assessment of the global 4G next generation mobile broadband standard and found that neither WiMAX or LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology qualifies as 4G, and that UK mobile operators should instead officially refer to them as 3G.

“While the goals set for IMT-Advanced were considered by some to be very high, I am very pleased to see that all stakeholders in the mobile wireless industry have risen to meet the challenge.

I look forward to the ITU-R Recommendation for IMT-Advanced that will have a profound effect on the development of state-of-the-art technologies for 4G mobile broadband.” – Valery Timofeev, Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau

In order for an IMT-Advanced (International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced) system to be called 4G it needs to be able to deliver a peak download speed of up to approximately 100Mbps ina high mobility environment, and up to 1Gbps in a low mobility environment.

The ITU found that neither WiMAX nor LTE could deliver the required 1Gbps in low mobility environmenrs, which means as a result that they do not qualify as a 4G solution.

The ITU’s final Report is expected to be approved by Member States at the ITU-R Study Group 5 meeting in Geneva during late November 2010.