Originally the ITU ruled that neither WiMax or LTE were 4G in October: http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobilize/4g-defined-wimax-and-lte-dont-qualify-683 http://www.

Originally the ITU ruled that neither WiMax or LTE were 4G in October: http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobilize/4g-defined-wimax-and-lte-dont-qualify-683 http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobilize/4g-defined-wimax-and-lte... Which meant neither Sprint's or Verizon's network were 4G, but that didn't stop them from advertising. In December, the ITU changed their mind and now WiMax, LTE, and HSPA+ can be called 4G: http://www.intomobile.com/2010/12/18/itu-reverses-its-decision-lte-wimax-and-hspa-are-now-4g/ http://www.intomobile.com/2010/12/18/itu-reverses-its-decisi... At this point, I think 4G is just mostly a marketing phrase now.