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Official 4G/WiMax: what is it, why do we want it

Eguy said:
I was talking about mobile WiMax networks. Sprint is going to be the first to have a full line of WiMax phones.
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Nope and nope. First mobile wimax used was in france (2007), then israel(2007), then usa(2008). First full line up of phones will be russia. Largest consumer base will be India. The next consumer base will be china. LTE is struggling in china or india. The 2.5 spectrum has be already agreed on. So if you want to go to india, your phone will work just fine. Same goes with china. Europe has more problems for lte. LTE has been at a full stop in europe until today. The spectrum was finally auction off. LTE in europe is really unsure. But it is clear that test markets will not be set up until 2012 and commercial until later. Mean while wimax is already working and being sold. Since 2007. That is a 5-7 year jump.
 
THEFORCE said:
so with wimax 2, would clear have to manually upgrade each tower or would it b a software upgrade?
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I saw it mentioned somewhere in the past, that it would be a software upgrade, but according to this new WiMAX 2 article, Sprint wasn't in favor of it at first. WiMAX 2, from the way I understand it, will be faster and it will bring WiMAX up to a true 4G standard.

At this point, I don't think I can truly answer your question, but maybe RiverOfIce, our WiMAX/LTE guru will be able to answer it when he comes in later.

Does anyone else have any insight into this?
 
Eguy said:
The EVO 4G is for Sprint in the USA only. It is a CDMA phone, not GSM. Also, Sprint is the only carrier that will be using WiMax, so that won't be of use in Europe either. You will have to look for the successor to the EVO or get a HD2 ;)
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RiverOfIce said:
LOL. Oh that is funny.... Oh I thought you where joking about the Europe/wimax thing. There is over 40 different carriers in Europe, including a massive roll out in Norway. Currenty wimax covers about 40 different cities in europe. I do not ask much, but I do ask you to check your fact, before stating them as facts.
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Ouch!! I thought this was supposed to be a friendly, congenial thread?? I do think Eguy misspoke, but he started out saying the "EVO 4G is for Sprint in the USA only".

As always, I appreciate your comments RiverOfIce and thanks again for setting the record straight. I read your later comments where you said the EVO 4G should work in India and China... Interesting.

The EVO 4G is a Sprint exclusive, but there's no doubt that HTC will be building this phone for other European countries, like they did with the HTC Hero or the HD2 which is just now coming here, but was available in Europe back in December.
 
billsmed said:
Intel, Motorola, Samsung and more join forces to support WiMAX 2. IEEE pushing 802.16m WiMAX to 1Gbps, hopes to converge with 4G.

A group of companies has finally stepped forward to support the new protocol, and solidify that nice, marketable "WiMAX 2" name while they're at it. Dubbed the WiMAX 2 Collaboration Initiative (or WCI for short), Alvarion, Beceem, GCT Semiconductor, Intel, Motorola, Samsung, Sequans, XRONet, ZTE and ITRI intend to, well, collaborate to make sure the new protocol can compete with LTE, while our old friends Sprint and Clearwire -- who are keeping their options open in the 4G wars -- simply cheer them on.
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Any idea if the Evo's data chip would be capable for WiMax 2?
 
RiverOfIce said:
Nope and nope. First mobile wimax used was in france (2007), then israel(2007), then usa(2008). First full line up of phones will be russia. Largest consumer base will be India. The next consumer base will be china. LTE is struggling in china or india. The 2.5 spectrum has be already agreed on. So if you want to go to india, your phone will work just fine. Same goes with china. Europe has more problems for lte. LTE has been at a full stop in europe until today. The spectrum was finally auction off. LTE in europe is really unsure. But it is clear that test markets will not be set up until 2012 and commercial until later. Mean while wimax is already working and being sold. Since 2007. That is a 5-7 year jump.
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I know there are lots of WiMax networks worldwide but do they have a full lineup of phones? I know HTC made a WiMax phone for Yota, but that was only one phone.
 
I don't usually do this (actually never) but this has to be the most mature, friendly, and overall friendly like place that I've seen in years.

First, the Wimax 2 question(WiMax 802.16m) The technology is backwards compatible with the current standard 802.16e, but Sprint and Clearwire aren't fully on board with this standard as yet. Their Plan B is LTE, and they've stated so for years. Personally, they should go aboard this WCI team, and go for the real "4G" technology, and not TD-LTE.

As with the EVO 4G, mostly what Jackson said was correct, and then some. I wish I could spill my guts out, but I'm bound by NDA, and get repeated by this each week. What I will tell you is this. 3 options taking place for the 4G pricing option. 1) Free for Everything Data, Simply Everything, and EPRP plans. 2) Option 1 with Mobile Hotspot being a optional step 3) 4G used is price, with Mobile Hotspot being a part of the package. Personally, Option 2 is what I think will happen.

As for the Simultaneous Voice and Data. That is looking pretty good, and will definitely happen, but I don't know if it will be ready by the release date. WiMax has a separate radio, with CDMA Voice/EvDO Data on the same radio. This is the reason why Voice + Data will not be taking place. All in all, Sprint really has a beast in its hands, and EVO isn't the only beast that Sprint has. *hint hint*
 
billsmed said:
Ouch!! I thought this was supposed to be a friendly, congenial thread?? I do think Eguy misspoke, but he started out saying the "EVO 4G is for Sprint in the USA only".
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Sorry just tired.


The wimax 2 is really just wimax. No real difference. Just faster and 100% compatible with current tech.

What is licensed Spectrum? — WIMAX

I do not think sprint will ever support wimax-m. No reason. The 10Mbps is faster then most people need.

At that speed you could stream 1080p movies, like 4 of them and still have room.

Once again sorry, just being worked hard and no sleep.
 
Clearwire Asks for LTE Standard it Can Use

These types of article's and other post make be worry about the future of wimax and the purchase of my EVO. I know several people have said that how can LTE win when it's not deployed, but to me it seem that wimax is just a short term fix and not the long term answer. And if not the long term answer then how long, is clear and sprint (not officially on board with wimax2) going to pursue LTE? Dan Hesse and the clearwire CEO have made it clear that they wanted to get edge on the market, clearwire CEO wants a merger with Wimax and LTE. I replace my phone every year, but I was planning on keeping the EVO for maybe two years or so. I am going to be one pissed off customer if they switch to LTE next year and my phone is moving slower on wimax and not compatible with new technology for the next two years.
 
I thought that the move to LTE would be software only and that it would then be compatible with the Evo pending a software update.

Maybe I'm wrong?
 
travisr528 said:
I replace my phone every year, but I was planning on keeping the EVO for maybe two years or so. I am going to be one pissed off customer if they switch to LTE next year and my phone is moving slower on wimax and not compatible with new technology for the next two years.
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I think you are safe for 2 years :) LTE is barely going to be deployed at that time so wimax will still be holding its own. further out who knows but 2 years I think we're all safe.
 
yibrushn said:
I think you are safe for 2 years :) LTE is barely going to be deployed at that time so wimax will still be holding its own. further out who knows but 2 years I think we're all safe.
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Yeah but LTE will be out summer 2011, out of the box @ 7-12mbps. wimax is only going to push 3-6mbps.
 
travisr528 said:
Yeah but LTE will be out summer 2011, out of the box @ 7-12mbps. wimax is only going to push 3-6mbps.
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Do you realize what you're saying? My cable internet at HOME downloads at 3 Mb/second. I never have to wait for anything for more than a second. There won't be a phone on the market for at least a few years that will be able to do anything with 7-12 Mb/second of data. Unless you're downloading feature-length HD movies, it's safe to say you won't notice a difference.
 
nx25 said:
Do you realize what you're saying? My cable internet at HOME downloads at 3 Mb/second. I never have to wait for anything for more than a second. There won't be a phone on the market for at least a few years that will be able to do anything with 7-12 Mb/second of data. Unless you're downloading feature-length HD movies, it's safe to say you won't notice a difference.
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I will wait and see how the evo handles streaming video content but I see a huge difference between my work connection 6mbs and my home connection, 24mb even while surfing normal web stuff.
 
WhiteNoise said:
I will wait and see how the evo handles streaming video content but I see a huge difference between my work connection 6mbs and my home connection, 24mb even while surfing normal web stuff.
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At that point, it's not the speed of the internet, it's the bandwidth, number of users, and how crappy your home computer is.

Edit: Either way, this won't be an issue until late next year (at the earliest). Sprint FTW
 
travisr528 said:
Yeah but LTE will be out summer 2011, out of the box @ 7-12mbps. wimax is only going to push 3-6mbps.
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Wimax has been out for 2 years I think, but it hasn't been relavent to the majority of us until this year. I believe LTE roll out will be just like that. Unless they go live in a hundred major markets and have a smartphone to go with it it's not competing with wimax yet.
 
travisr528 said:
Clearwire Asks for LTE Standard it Can Use

These types of article's and other post make be worry about the future of wimax and the purchase of my EVO. I know several people have said that how can LTE win when it's not deployed, but to me it seem that wimax is just a short term fix and not the long term answer. And if not the long term answer then how long, is clear and sprint (not officially on board with wimax2) going to pursue LTE? Dan Hesse and the clearwire CEO have made it clear that they wanted to get edge on the market, clearwire CEO wants a merger with Wimax and LTE. I replace my phone every year, but I was planning on keeping the EVO for maybe two years or so. I am going to be one pissed off customer if they switch to LTE next year and my phone is moving slower on wimax and not compatible with new technology for the next two years.
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We've been through this quite a bit in this thread. In my opinion, it's more like the shoe is on the other foot. At CTIA, Hesse talked about Spectrum or bandwidth quite a bit. He said they had plenty of it, so it's entirely possible to tether 8 other WiFi devices to the EVO. This would never be possible with LTE, because it doesn't have the spectrum. The speeds mentioned here for LTE don't mean that much. That's because I believe WiMAX 2 gives WiMAX a speed boost and according to RiverOfIce, the speeds are capped. Hopefully he will add more when he visits later. He's the most knowledgeable of all our forum members on the subject. All of his posts are worth reading, but here is his first post.
 
yibrushn said:
Wimax has been out for 2 years I think, but it hasn't been relavent to the majority of us until this year. I believe LTE roll out will be just like that. Unless they go live in a hundred major markets and have a smartphone to go with it it's not competing with wimax yet.
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I honestly think HSPA+ is going to be WIMAX's only competition for a couple of years, which is surprising considering it is coming from tmobile.
 
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