“Carl 4G is all about WiFi (News - Alert)” was a statement made to me from a friend who two years ago was all about LTE.

The statement now is probably correct. As our friends at ETSI (News - Alert) manage the work of migration to 4G now with Release 9 almost completed. The 3GPP alliance is the dominating force for existing carriers, but the story is definitely “Long” on the “Term” if not a Long Term Evolution. As we head to 4G the path is what exists, HSPA+, SAE/LTE (News - Alert), LTE-Advanced all get you there from here.

The 3G Americas group published its Resource Report which included a lot of helpful information about where we are going. The 240 page white paper can be found here.

Chris Pearson, president of 3G Americas points out that 4 billion users are served by 3GPP technology standards and these standards are designed to “suit their assets and business environments.”

 

For more than 300 of the networks (which includes ATT and most of the Apple iPhone carriers) UMTS- HSPA to HSPA+ is the migration path. LTE is the strategy for the another 130 network operators according to Informa Telecoms & Media (News - Alert) with more than 20 networks to be “launched” this year.

 

What is in Release 9 includes expansion of the MIMO, Femtocell and Self Organizing Network.

 

So if its all about LTE (including the inclusion of the WiMAX as we move forward) then why the statement about WiFi from the friend?

 

We could make the case that everything LTE is doing has been done on WiFi already and on WIMAX as well. OFDM, MIMO, and other strategies about to be added to LTE are implemented at the IEEE. I could make the case that WiFi in the home was the inspiration for Femtocells and self organizing could be based on Ethernet (the root of WiFi) or peer to peer which we all use on our WiFi networks via Skype (News - Alert) and other interesting applications.

 

However the more interesting answer is that LTE is looking to answer the demand that the WiFi market is fulfilling. Celia Bo & Philip Solis at ABI Research point out that WiFi Integrate Circuits are growing and being embedded all over including over 40 percent of wireless carriers handsets. This year, 802.11n will lead the market which should improve range for many devices.

 

For me and many of my friends a network that includes bring the Internet to wireless at broadband speeds is sufficient for the term 4G. However, as the 3GPP marketplace would tell you the International Telecommunication Union definition is going to around technologies delivering their upcoming standard International Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced or IMT-Advanced.

 

4G may not be WiFi, but I sure experience something more akin to it right now on WiFi, then I do elsewhere.