The folks over at Computerworld just ran the current 3G providers in America through their paces, only to discover that AT&T came out on top in almost every category. Well, it appears the monolithic telco plans to keep its edge (er...) on the competition -- by upping its HSPA service to a whopping 20Mbps come 2009. Our main man Ralph de la Vega said that the process wouldn't require a major overhaul to the provider's infrastructure, and that they're already working on punching up the current 3.6Mbps speeds to 7.2Mbps "in the labs." Apparently, this won't stall plans for forthcoming 4G / 700MHz / LTE service from the company -- it'll just be icing on the cake.

Read - Which 3G network is the best?
Read - AT&T plans 20-megabit 3G by 2009

Late last year, we were still wondering whether LTE even had the backing to keep up with WiMAX. Fast forward to CTIA 2008, and my, how the tables have turned. Vodafone, which already teamed up with Verizon in order to initiate an LTE trial in 2008, urged the rest of the wireless sector to put its support squarely behind Long Term Evolution. Vodafone Group's CEO, Arun Sarin, suggested that we could all see mobile internet speeds more similar to those enjoyed on the PC today if the industry "rallied around one broadband standard," specifically noting that "we need to look at LTE as an all-encompassing standard." The push comes hot on the heels of Sprint's unfortunate delay of its XOHM WiMAX network, but it should be noted that infrastructure vendors in attendance tended to feel that the two would coexist at least in the short term. Sheesh, let's just forget this whole LTE / WiMAX spat and place our bets on TD-SCDMA.

We're not grinding this one into stone just yet, but according to undisclosed "sources," KDDI will be supporting the same next-gen format as NTT DoCoMo and Softbank Mobile. According to so-called industry observers, KDDI's choice to back LTE will likely enable customers to switch providers without having to purchase an all new handset, thus providing more incentive for the carriers to offer more competitive rate plans. Chalk another up for the little big fella.

[Via IntoMobile]

Assuming Sprint can make it -- and that's starting to seem like kind of a big if these days -- CEO Dan Hesse made some comments about the coming 4G revolution, including one auspicious hint about dual-mode CDMA / WiMAX devices this later year for XOHM. It's almost an exciting enough concept for us to forget that even if these devices were forthcoming in 2008, they'd still only be for one of the soft launch markets, and would probably start as a data cards -- not phones. But hey, we're happy to be proven wrong, Sprint.

At first glance, you might think things aren't looking too rosy for Qualcomm, the chipset maker / patent holder extraordinaire that has a penchant for suing, getting sued, and developing "standards" that run counter to popular support. After all, the Broadcom patent infringement suit is dragging on with no end in sight -- and now this, a report from ABI Research analysts suggesting that its answer to LTE and WiMax in the 4G race, Ultra Mobile Broadband, could come up short. The problem isn't that UMB's performance sucks -- quite the contrary actually, with speeds allegedly topping out at 288Mbps downstream -- but rather that no major carrier has signed up to implement it. Indeed, CDMA stalwarts like Sprint and Verizon have both turned to alternatives for their next-gen networks, and it certainly doesn't help that LTE has the GSM Association's full blessing and support. Then again, Qualcomm claims that it'll be doing plenty of royalty collectin' regardless of what 4G tech wins out, so we're not ready to prep the obit just yet.

Chalk up another one for the LTE team, as it has yet another big proponent in the ever-raging 4G war. Not even two months after Verizon gave LTE the nod over WiMAX / UMB, the board of the GSM Association has now voted to support Long Term Evolution as the mobile broadband solution to follow HSPA. The GSMA also noted that it would be interfacing with other outfits / organizations that are developing LTE technology and begin work with the NGMN (Next Generation Mobile Networks) initiative. Furthermore, Rob Conway, the entity's CEO, reportedly called on the International Telecommunication Union to "ensure the industry wins the spectrum needed to offer mobile broadband." 'Course, we've already heard that things are shaping up nicely (in testing) for the standard, but winning over the GSMA is likely to incite some serious celebrating in the offices of LTE backers everywhere.

We've already seen a number of ultra-high speed alternatives to LTE trialed and drooled over, so it's about time that Long Term Evolution had its 15 minutes, too. The LTE / SAE Trial Initiative, founded by a gaggle of companies including Nokia, has recently revealed that initial testing "confirmed that the technology will deliver high levels of data throughput both for stationary and mobile devices." More specifically, it was suggested that peak 100Mbps downlink / 50Mbps uplink rates could indeed be met, and we're told that confirmation was "achieved using an agreed set of common transmission profiles, test procedures, and analysis methods." Beyond the hip, hip, hooray, there's not a lot of details to share, but those interested in basking in the glory of one darn fine trial can hit the read link and have at it.

[Via Physorg, image courtesy of LetsGoMobile]

The deal seemed all but imminent back in July, but apparently, Sprint and Clearwire never actually signed a definitive agreement to cooperate on a WiMAX build-out. Now, it seems that Sprint is going down the same road it traversed this summer, as it looks for creative ways to handle its $5 billion WiMAX situation which it "remains committed to." Aside from actively seeking a new CEO, higher-ups in the outfit are considering a potential merger with Clearwire, which would enable the resulting entity to be publicly traded. According to The Wall Street Journal, other options include seeking a "strategic investor for its WiMAX unit, acquiring Clearwire outright or formalizing the deal struck in July." As it stands, however, it doesn't look like any major WiMAX restructuring will take place until a new head honcho clocks in, but it was suggested that Sprint was in talks with Google to "carry devices based on Google's new operating system," which opens up a whole new can of worms...

In a wrap-up of the state of 4G networks over at BusinessWeek, the battle between the three competing 4G network standards -- WIMAX, Long Term Evolution (LTE), and Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) -- is appraised, with WIMAX clearly edging out its other rivals. This could be a two horse race before long if Verizon chooses to back GSM's successor LTE over CDMA's sequel, UMB. That would leave Qualcomm without one of its most significant backers for CDMA's spiritual sibling, although it'll do just fine thanks to the multiple 4G patents it holds. Ultimately though, in all of this space there's very little discussion about what the consumer wants: do we really need two or three different standards that probably won't inter-operate, leaving us back at the square we've always been at? Frankly, for all the benefits that 4G is purported to bring, we'd like something a little more imaginative than the usual bickering amongst the big shots.

Update: Although it didn't come from VZW, last month Vodafone's chairman Arun Sarin made it clear that Verizon will go for LTE. Bad news for UMB!

We remember when WiMAX was just a twinkle in a wireless engineer's eye, and now it's all ready for the big time, as the ITU officially approved the spec as part of the 3G standard today. That's doubly special since WiMAX is the first non-cellular tech to get approval as 3G, but with services like Sprint's Xohm blurring the line for consumers, we can see how it's easier to just lump it all together. Of course, Sprint confusingly says Xohm is "4G," but it looks like they may need to tone it down now that the ITU has spoken. Either way, the ITU's decisions usually get enacted by governments, which means carriers with 3G spectrum will soon be able to start building out WiMAX networks without additional regulations. It's so bittersweet when they grow up, isn't it?

[Via PhoneScoop]

In case you're not tired of seeing high-speed promises for 4G networks, along comes yet another from South Korea that could "enable users to download data at 3.6-gigabits per second while moving at 3-kilometers per hour or slower. Dubbed NoLA, which translates out to New Nomadic Local Area Wireless Access, the technology should allow folks to "download a disc full of data in under two seconds." Choi Mun-kee, head of the Daejeon-based institute, stated that NoLA data transmissions far surpass the "international 4G benchmark for slow-moving users," and Minister of Information and Communications Yoo Young-hwan threw in his two pennies by suggesting that it could one day "be applied to home networking and internet protocol TV or IPTV." Now, if only South Korea was closer to America...

[Via GizmoWatch, thanks Vikas]

Not quite a year after EV-DO Rev. C became more commonly known as Ultra Mobile Broadband, we're now hearing that the official specifications have been published. Reportedly, the UMB specification should be "quickly converted into an official global standard by the 3GPP2 organizational partners," and with it should come "peak download data rates of 288Mbps in a 20MHz bandwidth." Notably, the release states that multi-mode, multi-band UMB devices will "leverage the existing 3G CDMA device selection to preserve economies of scale," and it's scheduled to become widely available on a worldwide basis during the first half of 2009.

[Via RCRWirelessNews]

In a move to standardize two of the largest networks in the world, Vodafone and Verizon Wireless have announced that both carriers will move to LTE (Long Term Evolution) for its next-gen networks. Verizon currently uses CDMA technology for voice and mostly EV-DO for data in both Rev. 0 and Rev. A flavors. LTE is the progression path for UMTS carriers like Vodafone -- who coincidentally was looking at WiMAX last month -- to fourth generation networks. LTE will run on an entirely IP based network and has data speeds up to 100Mbps download and 50Mbps upload. What's Verizon's next move, bringing in executives from Vodafone?

In a move that may be making others scratch their head in confusion, Vodafone has decided to join the WiMAX Forum as a principle member despite the natural progression from UMTS to other 4G technologies. To many, WiMAX is the next-generation mobile technology offering robust data speeds for CDMA network providers such as Sprint. For Vodafone and many others, though, LTE -- Long Term Evolution -- is the roadmap towards 4G bliss, but a few bumps in the road like delays in ratifying standards might've caused the Verizon Wireless co-parent to look elsewhere for some next gen love.

While we were already looking forward to the N800 Internet Tablet's inevitable successor, it seems like Sprint may have something else in mind. According to LinuxDevices, the operator "will offer a mobile WiMAX-enabled version of Nokia's N800 Internet Tablet to North American customers next year," which reportedly falls in line with the carrier's grand scheme of making 4G services available "to over 100 million people during 2008." Furthermore, Nokia's director of open source, Dr. Ari Jaaksi, was quoted as saying that this here device would "most probably" include WiFi and Bluetooth as well, but as expected, no details regarding a specific launch timeframe were divulged.

[Via JustAMP]