SPOTLIGHT: What is 4G?

In-Stat says the technologies the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will declare as 4G technologies in the 2008/2009 timeframe are Long Term Evolution (LTE), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and IEEE 802.16m WiMAX. n-Stat analyst, Gemma Tedesco, said that two widely expected requirements for 4G technologies are that they be OFDMA-based, and that they support 100 Mbps for wide area mobile applications. Drivers of LTE, UMB and 802.16m WiMAX adoption are likely to herald the re-allocation of older spectrum for 4G technologies, the resolution of any WiMAX IPR issues and the creation of FDD profiles for 802.16e WiMAX. Release