[syanni85]

Originally Posted by Draiko

What facts I know so far:

4G is defined as 100+ mbps

In September2008, Sprint's WiMax will start out at a real world speed of 3-5 mbps and hit the roof at around 70+ mbps.

In 3-4 years, LTE is projected launch with around 50 mbps and grow to speeds of 150+ mbps. No true real-world tests have been published as of yet.

LTE was tested in germany and achieved 160 mbps peak rates for multiple users but over relatively short distances (hundreds of meters... not even 1 km).

LTE's signal range and fall off has yet to be seen.

WiMax will compete with HSDPA 7.2 first and then grow.

Intel is building WiMax into their UMPCs, netbooks, and Laptops that have the Centrino 2 chipsets.

Real-world tested speeds for WiMax were over 3.2 mbps in moving vehicles (boat and car).

People don't like connection cards that stick out of their laptops, they'd rather have a built-in connection.

I have yet to see a laptop with built-in HSDPA in the wild.

I have yet to see HSDPA 3.6 produce a solid 3+ mbps connection.

Speed Test results for HSDPA 3.6 top out at around 1.4 mbps... about equal to EVDO rev A.

HSDPA 7.2 speed tests are maxing out at 2.4 mbps.

LTE has yet to be tested in real-world conditions.

My Take:

The 3-4 year head start will give WiMax the edge it needs to attract businesses. LTE will bring the pain when it actually launches, but WiMax will then have a cost-advantage and will be "fast enough" for businesses. Since WiMax is being marketed as 4G, LTE will probably get an eventual marketing boost with some kind of "introducing the REAL 4G" marketing campaign. By the time LTE launches, it will not have the coverage nor will it have the hardware that WiMax will have.

i am now enlightened