Items tagged with 4G LTE
Google continues to make its comparatively low-cost Google Fi wireless service a more intriguing option. It already has the advantage of friendly billing versus what the four major wireless carriers in the US charge, those being AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Now on the usability side, Google Fi is enabling RCS messaging by default on eligible phones. RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging is a communications protocol with more bells and whistles than regular SMS text messaging. Similar to iMessages that is used on iOS devices, RCS offers things like read receipts, video calls, encryption, and more. "With RCS in Messages, you can do and share more when you message friends, family...
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Earlier today we reported that T-Mobile was taking AT&T to task for its decision to seemingly deceive customers by changing 4G LTE labels on consumers' smartphones to ”5G E” with a software update. 5G E stands for 5G Evolution, which in AT&T parlance is a speed-boosted extension of existing 4G LTE wireless technology. Now, the nation's largest wireless carrier, Verizon Wireless, is also calling out AT&T. While Verizon technically launched a 5G wireless network, it is limited to just a few cities in the United States at the moment and is only available for a fixed home broadband connection. So, while AT&T might have the only "true" operational...
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The whole industry seems to be pivoting to 5G wireless technology, but that doesn't mean everyone is giving up on 4G LTE. In fact, the United States' largest wireless carrier, Verizon Wireless, is breathing some new life into the standard. With the help of Nokia and Qualcomm, Verizon has demonstrated 4G LTE speeds topping out at 1.45Gbps in a live commercial environment. To achieve these breakneck speeds, Verizon is making full use of the LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) standard including six-channel carrier aggregation, 256 QAM and 4x4 MIMO technologies. This in combination with Verizon's own PCS and AWS spectrum along a Nokia AirScale base station and Qualcomm Snapdragon X24 LTE modem is what allowed...
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ordered a resident in Brooklyn, New York to cease his Bitcoin mining operation after it was discovered that the hardware he was using to mine Bitcoin was causing interference with 4G LTE signals on T-Mobile's wireless network. If that is truly the case, this incident adds a new wrinkle to the already controversial world of cryptocurrency. In a letter to the person responsible, the FCC said it used "direction finding techniques" to locate the source of the offending hardware, in this case an Antminer s5 Bitcoin miner, a popular mining ASIC that is purpose built for Bitcoin mining. These units sell for several hundred dollars and are capable of mining...
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If you currently own a smartphone (and who doesn't these days), it's likely rocking a 4G LTE modem. The fastest available LTE modems, like Qualcomm's Snapdragon X20, are capable of reaching [theoretical] top speeds of 1.2Gbps. However, Qualcomm isn't done with 4G LTE technology just yet, which is why it today is introducing the Snapdragon X24. The Snapdragon X24 is the world's first Category 20 LTE modem, and supports download speeds of up to 2Gbps. And while most of us have marveled at the 10nm manufacturing process that is used for today's flagship smartphones, the Snapdragon X24 is built on a new 7nm FinFET process. This is Qualcomm's third-generation gigabit-class 4G LTE modem, and doubles...
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In an effort to improve beef up its nationwide wireless broadband network, Verizon has agreed to purchase fiber optic cabling from Corning for $1.05 billion, which will be paid out over the next three years, the two companies announced today. As part of the agreement, Corning will provide the nation's largest wireless carrier up to 20 million kilometers (12.4 million miles) of optical fiber each year from 2018 through 2020. "Our plans identified a shortfall in fiber supply, and Verizon has been working with business teams to forecast demand and fill supply gaps with existing suppliers. Securing the required volume of optical fiber and hardware solutions with Corning will ensure we meet our planned...
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Verizon is truly working its magic behind the scenes to increase connection speeds for customers. Around this time last month, the company announced that it is testing a 10 gigabit optical fiber internet service that will offer 10Gbps download/2Gbps upload speeds and could eventually offer peak download speeds of 80Gbps. Today we’re learning that Verizon is also working on boosting its wireless speeds by testing out 5G wireless technology. So what exactly does 5G wireless technology entail? Verizon is being pretty coy at this point, as field tests aren’t expected to start until 2016. However, the company does say that 5G provides 50 times the throughput of its existing 4G LTE network and that...
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If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That’s is the case with the second generation Moto E, which was announced this morning by Motorola. Leading up to the launch of the new smartphone, a product listing on Best Buy’s website suggested that the device would carry a price tag of $99. However, reality hit us today, and the actual retail price is a more understandable $149. However, all is not lost because Motorola has made some significant improvements to the second generation Moto E, with the headlining feature being the addition of LTE connectivity. Motorola also boosted processing performance, moving from a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 to a quad-core Snapdragon 410. Storage...
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T-Mobile showed up a wee bit late to the 4G LTE party, having first launched its LTE network in barely more than half a dozen markets six months ago. Making up for lost time, the fourth largest wireless carrier in the U.S. announced that its 4G LTE network now reaches 180 million people in 154 metro areas across the country.. This is on top of T-Mobile's 4G HSPA+ network, which the company claims reaches 228 million people. While T-Mobile's 4G LTE expansion over the past six months is impressive, it has a long way to go before it catches up with most of the competition, save for Sprint. It's also worth noting that T-Mobile only added 38 new markets covering an additional 23 million people since...
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Verizon Wireless likes to boast about its 4G LTE network being the most robust in the business, and by the end of next year, Big Red will put its money where its mouth is at by offering smartphones that only run on 4G LTE. It's a bold move, but Big Red isn't making the jump blindly and hoping for the best. Just the opposite, VZW has worked hard to roll out an expansive 4G LTE network, and with much of the groundwork now in place, the wireless carrier will begin focusing on adding voice over LTE (VoLTE), a required feature if it's to offer 4G LTE-only phones. "We will get this right. Our brand is built on reliability," Verizon Chief Network Officer Nicki Palmer said during a conference call with...
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It's getting to be a little tough keeping up with all of Samsung's Galaxy devices, even those among the same family. To wit, there's there's the Galaxy S4 (Samsung's flagship smartphone), Galaxy S4 mini (a phone for budget shoppers), Galaxy S4 Active (a rugged smartphone), and Galaxy S4 zoom (hybrid camera/smartphone) -- phew! Soon you'll be able to add to the growing list of Galaxy S4 devices a new model smartphone with faster download speeds. Samsung's working on a special version of the Galaxy S4 that will use LTE-Advanced 4G technology. The big benefit of LTE-Advanced is that it offers data transmission speeds that are up to twice as fast as traditional 4G LTE. As Samsung explains it, a movie...
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Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo, as shops in the Michigan city like to point out on touristy T-shirts (I should know, I live in the Kalamazoo area). And yes, AT&T's 4G LTE service is now available in Kalamazoo, offering residents mobile Internet speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G. It's one of several cities in which AT&T has either just activated 4G LTE, or plans to do so in the coming months. AT&T is feverishly trying to catch up with Verizon Wireless, the market leader in terms of 4G LTE coverage, which covers almost 500 markets. Many of the cities AT&T announced today -- including Lake City, Texarkana, New Iberia, Spokane, Batavia, Asheville, and a whole bunch more -- will...
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Good news for those of you who pre-ordered the Wi-Fi + Cellular version of the iPad mini. The waiting game is almost over, as Apple has begun notifying customers that the 4G LTE-equipped tablet will start shipping out in the next five days. Despite carrying a pricing premium over competing (and slightly smaller) 7-inch tablets like the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD, Apple's iPad mini is off to a fast start. Apple almost immediately sold out of its initial batch of Wi-Fi models, and just recently announced that it sold 3 million iPad mini and 4th generation iPad tablets combined over the first three-day weekend of sales, a figure that only included Wi-Fi models. Apple is still short on stock. New...
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Verizon Wireless already boasts the most robust 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in the United States, and now it's announcing plans to expand to new territories well ahead of schedule, further distancing itself from the competition. On October 18th (a week from tomorrow), Big Red will flip the 4G LTE switch in its 400th market, at which time it will have officially met its goal of rolling out high speed cellular access to 400 territories two months ahead of schedule. "This milestone and the growing success of our 4G LTE network signal that we at Verizon Wireless are keeping our commitment to our customers to provide them with the very best mobile broadband experience in the nation with the...
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AT&T claims it has the nation's largest 4G network, a claim that's based largely on its HSPA+ infrastructure. But what about 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution)? The wireless carrier's working on it. Leading up to the iPhone 5 launch, AT&T flipped the 4G LTE switch on in almost a dozen new major cities across the U.S. Which ones? Within just the last week, AT&T expanded 4G LTE coverage to: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wilmington, Deleware Sacramento, California Memphis, Tennessee Birmingham, Alabama Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Seattle, Washington Honolulu, Hawaii Cincinnati, Ohio Fayetteville, North Carolina Wilmington, North Carolina The list is even longer if you include the entire month of...
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Wireless carriers are spending big money rolling out high-speed 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks across the nation, and if a Piper Jaffray survey is any indication, almost half of American consumers are indifferent to the idea. At the same time, more than half of the 3,000 individuals polled said they're considering an iPhone 5 purchase, with 4G LTE being one of the big expected feature updates to Apple's next generation smartphone. Some 47 percent of those surveyed said they don't need 4G LTE, while a little more than a quarter -- 26 percent -- told Piper Jaffray that all 4G network technologies are the same. Only 15 percent recognized 4G LTE as the best option, perhaps indicating that...
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Rivals T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless have inked a deal to exchange spectrum in the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) band in 218 markets across the U.S. The mutually beneficial deal will improve T-Mobile's spectrum position in 15 of the top 25 markets throughout the country as it looks to launch 4G LTE service next year, in exchange for spectrum covering 22 million people and "certain cash considerations" paid to Verizon. "This agreement will provide T-Mobile with critical AWS spectrum, enhancing both network capacity and performance and allowing us to meet the growing consumer demand for 4G mobile broadband," T-Mobile CEO and President Philipp Humm said. "This is good for T-Mobile and good for...
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Apple is having a changing of heart about attaching the 4G moniker to its third generation iPad tablet. In truth, 4G LTE service on the iPad only really works in the U.S. and Canada via a handful of carriers (five, to be exact), and it didn't sit well with some remote locales that Apple was labeling compatible devices as "Wi-Fi + 4G." Amid mounting criticism, Apple removed the 4G moniker in many parts of the world, including the U.S. If you head over to Apple's online store or visit one of its retail locations, you'll find that those version iPads are now called "Wi-Fi + Cellular." In addition to the U.S. and Canada, 9to5Mac claims Apple replaced the 4G moniker in the U.K., Australia, UAE, Vietnam,...
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T-Mobile's been having a rough time lately. First it failed to get an iPhone device, leaving it as the only major wireless carrier to offer one. And then the whole AT&T acquisition fell to pieces, which would have negated the iPhone's absence from T-Mobile, since AT&T already carries it. Customers aren't sticking around, either. T-Mobile recently announced that it lost 526,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared with 23,000 customer losses in the same quarter one year prior, partially the result of "intense competitive pressure from the launch of the iPhone 4S by three nationwide competitors." What's a wireless carrier in this position to do? How about rolling out 4G LTE...
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If you're in need of a 4G LTE smartphone and don't want to break the bank, you're in luck. Verizon Wireless is now selling two if its newer 4G LTE handsets -- LG Spectrum and HTC Rezound -- for just $100 each, with a requisite two-year service agreement, naturallly. That's a pretty good deal no matter which of these spiffy Android devices you choose, both of which feature 1.5GHz dual-core processors, 1GB of RAM, qHD displays, and of course 4G LTE radios. The LG Spectrum is a slightly larger device with a 4.5-inch display, while the HTC Rezound brings a 4.3-inch touchscreen to the smartphone party. In terms of storage, the LG Spectrum ships with 4GB of internal memory and a 16GB microSD...
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Whoever keeps tripping over the 4G LTE power cord over at Verizon struck again this week, the third time it's happened in December and raising questions about Verizon's reliability going into 2012. Customers coast-to-coast reported having no 4G data access, and in some cases, 3G was taken offline as well, though Verizon claims the outage was related to 4G only. "4G LTE issue resolved overnight. 3G operated normally; calling, texting were unaffected," Verizon stated in a Twitter post. On one hand, it's a good sign Verizon was able to address the issue overnight, but given the recent problems, it could mean Verizon's engineers are just well practiced. In any event, the crummy timing comes as Verizon...
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Just a few years ago, as the LTE versus WiMax wars were being waged, there was a time when Sprint and Clearwire had well over a hundred WiMax deployments, which dwarfed its LTE rivals, who had zero. Within the last year or so, Verizon and MetroPCS have gotten busy on the LTE front. MetroPCS launched the first LTE deployment in Las Vegas back in September 2010 and has been steadily increasing its reach. As of July, the company had about 8.9 million subscribers in markets including the Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and West Coast. After dipping its 4G toes into the waters of Boston and Seattle barely two years ago, Verizon’s 4G LTE coverage has exploded to cover 117 cities around the country....
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