Is WiMax 4G? Nooo…Yes

CNET has a nice, easy-to-drink article on telecom terminology perfect for this lazy July day. One of the terms they try to define is 4G.

In their jargon glossary, CNET includes WiMax and LTE under the “4G” umbrella, and specifically refers to Sprint “using an older version of 4G called WiMax”.

I guess you can say mobile WiMax or 802.16e is an older version of 4G.Continue reading

Back at the FCC: Sprint Files 377-Page Petition

I’m going to review this massive petition to denial filing—redacted, though, for public viewing—over this short holiday week. Not surprisingly, Sprint Nextel is not happy with AT&T’s bid to swallow T-Mobile.

With the word duopoloy (according to my PDF search) showing up on 21 pages and anti-competitive on another 23 pages, I think you get an inkling of how this carrier feels.

And here’s a choice nugget from the beginning of this thing:Continue reading

Sprint 4G is Spelled W I M A X

Image from Gizmodo

I am very  excited about the new Sprint 4G phone revealed at CTIA 2010: a mashup of Android OS-CDMA-WiFi-WiMAX and encased in an HTC Evo package (see  more sexy pictures here). It should be available this summer.

Why does the phone earn the 4G signifier? Not sure. This smartphone’s high-speed data bits pass through Clearwire-Sprint’s wireless data network (voice is still CDMA), which  is  based on more of a 3G standard, 802.16   or WiMAX.Continue reading