A survey of more than 250 subscribers to Webtorials on April of 2007 ,yes 2007), an educational Web site about networking technologies, revealed some interesting perceptions about broadband mobile network alternatives.
About half the respondents represented enterprise IT personnel and about half worked in service provider companies. Survey takers responded from around the globe, though about half were in North America. A “free association” portion of the survey asked respondents to define as best they could the terms “WiMAX” and “4G.”
A good chunk of both groups (about 25%) chose “WiMAX” as the term they associate most closely with the definition of “4G.” However, the reverse wasn’t true. When asked to define “WiMAX,” most respondents chose “mobile broadband” as the closest definition (not “4G”). What’s the difference?
4G: This mysterious term generally refers to “the next generation of cellular” network that will follow 3G, which is being rolled out in pockets all over the world today.
While true 3G technology has specific worldwide industry standards associated with it, 4G doesn’t mandate specific technical network standards beyond the use of the IP protocol and packet-switching technology. Rather, it describes capabilities desirable in the next generation of mobile networks. For example, 4G networks — regardless of how they are constructed — will support IP multimedia applications and the ability for users to roam across dissimilar network infrastructures.
WiMAX: Unlike 4G, WiMAX is a set of technical standards for a specific network. Mobile WiMAX, which is technically the IEEE’s set of 802.16-2005 standards, will likely be the first available 4G alternative. But the terms aren’t synonymous: Mobile WiMAX will be a type of 4G network, but not all 4G networks will be mobile WiMAX networks. Just like all vegans are vegetarians, but not all vegetarians are vegans.
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