long-term evolution

Apple's latest developer builds for iOS 5 contain a snippet of code that mentions LTE, according to enthusiast site MacRumors, prompting speculation that the company may be testing 4G internally.

Peeking into the iOS 5 firmware for a couple of developer builds, MacRumors found a property list (.plist file) that points to LTE, or Long Term Evolution. Uncovered only in builds for the GSM iPhone 4 and CDMA iPad 2, the LTE.plist file was found to be related to an application that Apple uses for field testing.

The apparent discovery follows reports from Boy Genius Report a week … Read more

The battle between LTE and WiMax for 4G dominance may soon be over with LTE declared the champ, according to a report out today from IHS iSuppli.

Though WiMax still enjoys a slight edge for now, adoption of LTE (long-term evolution) will surpass that of its 4G rival sometime next year. By 2014, the number of LTE subscribers will hit 303.1 million versus only 33.4 million for WiMax, said IHS.

"With WiMAX enjoying a two- to three-year head start in next-generation network deployments, it presently enjoys a major advantage in market share in the 4G segment," … Read more

CHICAGO - Two of the most popular next generation wireless technologies are close to getting their official 4G moniker from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The ITU, which is an agency within the United Nations, is the International standards body that officially designates wireless technologies as 1G, 2G, 3G and now 4G. This week at a meeting in China the group took a step closer to making the technologies LTE or Long Term Evolution and WiMax official 4G standards.

Specifically, the ITU voted that LTE-Advanced technology, meets the criteria it uses to classify the technology as 4G. The ITU also … Read more

MetroPCS Communications opened its second 4G LTE market today, this one in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.

The new service follows the carrier's initial 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) launch in Las Vegas last week. As in Vegas, the Dallas-Forth Worth service will offer prepaid monthly plans starting at $55, which include unlimited talk, text, and data, and require no contract.

But Dallas-Forth Worth customers will also get a few additional features. MetroStudio, available through the $60 monthly plan, will offer downloads and ringtones as well as video content from NBC Universal and other providers, MetroPCS said. A new combined … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Sprint Nextel and Clearwire executives admitted Wednesday that they could follow the rest of the worldwide wireless network and adopt LTE for future network upgrades.

Spring Nextel CEO Dan Hesse and Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow sat down separately and talked to CTIA CEO Steve Largent during the keynote session on the second day of the CTIA trade show here.

In 2008, Sprint and Clearwire combined spectrum and formed a partnership to build a nationwide network using a technology called WiMax. During the keynote conversations, Largent asked each executive about his company's decision to use WiMax over other technologies, … Read more

Clearwire saw a huge uptick in 4G wireless subscribers in the fourth quarter, which helped the company narrow its losses.

The company, which is building a nationwide 4G wireless network, added 87,000 new subscribers in the fourth quarter, it reported Wednesday. This is up from the 5,000 it signed up in the fourth quarter of 2008. Clearwire ended the year with a total of 688,000 customers.

These subscribers also included wholesale customers, which use the Clearwire service through one of its partners, such as Sprint, Comcast, or Time Warner Cable. Clearwire said that its wholesale subscribers jumped … Read more

WiMax may be Clearwire's technology of choice today as it builds out its nationwide 4G wireless network, but the upstart carrier may eventually migrate to a competing technology that's expected to be used by most of the world's major wireless operators.

Clearwire's willingness to add additional 4G technologies to its network in the future will likely help it compete more aggressively in the future with other 4G wireless providers, such as Verizon Wireless. And ultimately this could mean more choices, better services, and more competitive pricing for wireless broadband services for consumers.

In an interview with … Read more

The number of people grabbing their Internet access through WiMax is expected to jump to 50 million by 2014, says Juniper Research.

A report released Tuesday by the British research firm describes the growth in WiMax stemming from areas unreachable or unserved by broadband cable or DSL.

WiMax is a wireless technology that delivers broadband speeds over the last mile, ideal for locations where cabling is not available or feasible. Faster than current wireless 3G technology, WiMax can also serve large metropolitan areas as it covers a wider area than conventional Wi-Fi.

Referenced in the report, the most advanced WiMax … Read more

Twenty-six operators are committed to the long-term evolution 4G standard, according to research released this week by the Global Mobile Suppliers Association. While the forum for GSM and 3G suppliers worldwide decidedly has a stake in promoting LTE, the number indicates growing momentum for the standard, which promises download data rates of at least 100Mbps.

Fierce competition has arisen to become the world's first LTE operator in an arena regarded as the next generation of mobile phone service and a huge draw for customers.

Ten network operators are ready to launch their networks by 2010, according to the report. … Read more