What's the Future for 4G?
All signs point to open access winning out in wireless: The iPhone developer kit hits the streets this month, enabling the long-awaited opening of that device to third-party applications. A 3G upgrade shouldn’t be far behind. Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless’ publication of technical standards and a road map for the testing of devices for network compatibility also should begin in February or thereabouts — a necessary step to realize its pledge to open its network to any device or application. And by the time you read this, Sprint will have two months of data on its soft launch of WiMAX, while its new CEO will have laid out the company’s reconsidered WiMAX strategy. Sprint has spent months pushing the idea of a WiMAX-enabled world where data applications run freely on an open wireless Internet and devices are made by consumer electronics companies (personal Internet gaming devices, TVs, softphone handsets, an Xbox 4G, you name it) and purchased at the Best Buys of the world.
If taken to its logical end, the path the industry is on could culminate in a pervasive shroud of open mobile and fixed broadband, which will allow users to port content, call-routing preferences and their profiles between work, home and anywhere in between. Analysts predict third-party applications and user-generated/social networking traffic will explode.
"With 4G wireless, the user shouldn’t see any difference between the wired or wireless network, and will have multiple options for connectivity," says Danny Locklear, director of wireless product marketing at Nortel Networks. "If 2001 saw an inflection where data overtook voice on public networks, by 2011 the expectation is that wireless will overtake wireline connections. Anything that can be connected to the Internet will be connected at some point, and the number of commercial devices connected wirelessly will skyrocket. We expect that every user will have about 10 connections across multiple consumer electronics devices, making for 5 billion Internet connections total worldwide."
In December, while Sprint grappled with financial issues, a change in leadership and the demise of its partnership with Clearwire Corp. to build out a nationwide WiMAX network, Verizon Communications Inc. gave the 4G notion fresh wings with its announcement that it will build out a 4G network based on LTE technology. Verizon Wireless and its parent Vodafone plc are in trials with the LTE architecture this year; trial suppliers include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Motorola Inc., Nokia-Siemens Networks and Nortel. On the device side, the companies are working with LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, as well as consumer electronics companies.
