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Is this going to happen each and every time a new standard comes by. Did this also not happen with 4G LTE? I suppose the difference being that the use of the

Is this going to happen each and every time a new standard comes by. Did this also not happen with 4G LTE? I suppose the difference being that the use of the "E" wasn't approved by the regulating body like the use of LTE was?

wmf 8y ago
Not that anyone cares, but last time Sprint/Clearwire 4G WiMax was 4 Mbps while AT&T/T-Mobile 3G HSPA was faster than 4 Mbps, giving Sprint an unfair marketing advantage. Labeling HSPA as "4G" reduced customer confusion in some sense.
- judge2020 8y ago
  That's still technically lying; the network info that shows on the phone screen doesn't represent how fast the network is, just what protocol/network it's using. Consumers regarding `4g = faster than 3g` is solely due to how 4g was marketed.
  - deelowe 8y ago
    It would be easier to simy redefine 4g than to convince the world at large that 4g isn't indicative of network speeds.
ploxiln 8y ago
We call it "4G LTE" instead of just "4G" ... because T-Mobile and AT&T labeled 3G HSPA+ as "4G" ... because Sprint's WiMAX was a fourth-generation technology but wasn't very good, so it was slower than decent 3G. Similarly, when 5G is first available, it won't be very good, and really good 4G LTE will actually be faster. So AT&T is pre-emptively calling good 4G "5G". It sure would be nice if consumers would understand that "5G" is not always better than "4G", it's just different, and one day will probably be better, but not today, not even this year. But marketing won't risk it, they'll just re-number and re-name, and make sure everyone is properly confused.
- masonic 8y ago
  Was Sprint's Wimax, which they called 4G before they rolled out 4G/LTE, better than or inferior to 3G HSPA+?
  - wmf 8y ago
    WiMax was slower than HSPA+ (both under ideal conditions, of course).
- deleted 8y ago
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  - deleted 8y ago
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rayiner 8y ago
The standards bodies are different. "4G" was an aspirational marketing label created by a standards body that doesn't actually develop the technical standards. The relevant technical standards are 5G-NR (new radio) and LTE Advance Pro, which are developing along parallel tracks implementing key technologies in common.

wmf 8y ago

Not that anyone cares, but last time Sprint/Clearwire 4G WiMax was 4 Mbps while AT&T/T-Mobile 3G HSPA was faster than 4 Mbps, giving Sprint an unfair marketing advantage. Labeling HSPA as "4G" reduced customer confusion in some sense.

judge2020 8y ago
That's still technically lying; the network info that shows on the phone screen doesn't represent how fast the network is, just what protocol/network it's using. Consumers regarding `4g = faster than 3g` is solely due to how 4g was marketed.
- deelowe 8y ago
  It would be easier to simy redefine 4g than to convince the world at large that 4g isn't indicative of network speeds.

ploxiln 8y ago

We call it "4G LTE" instead of just "4G" ... because T-Mobile and AT&T labeled 3G HSPA+ as "4G" ... because Sprint's WiMAX was a fourth-generation technology but wasn't very good, so it was slower than decent 3G. Similarly, when 5G is first available, it won't be very good, and really good 4G LTE will actually be faster. So AT&T is pre-emptively calling good 4G "5G". It sure would be nice if consumers would understand that "5G" is not always better than "4G", it's just different, and one day will probably be better, but not today, not even this year. But marketing won't risk it, they'll just re-number and re-name, and make sure everyone is properly confused.

masonic 8y ago
Was Sprint's Wimax, which they called 4G before they rolled out 4G/LTE, better than or inferior to 3G HSPA+?
- wmf 8y ago
  WiMax was slower than HSPA+ (both under ideal conditions, of course).
deleted 8y ago
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- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

rayiner 8y ago

The standards bodies are different. "4G" was an aspirational marketing label created by a standards body that doesn't actually develop the technical standards. The relevant technical standards are 5G-NR (new radio) and LTE Advance Pro, which are developing along parallel tracks implementing key technologies in common.