4G

• Speed: 4G networks offer faster data download and upload speeds compared to 3G. Theoretically, 4G can achieve speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbit/s) for high mobility communication and 1 gigabit per second (Gbit/s) for stationary users.
• Latency: Reduced latency, resulting in more responsive user experiences.
• Capacity: Enhanced network capacity allowing more simultaneous connections.
• Advanced Antenna Techniques: Use of MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) and beamforming for better signal quality and improved spectral efficiency.

In November 2008, the International Telecommunication Union-Radio communications sector (ITU-R) specified a set of requirements for 4G standards, named the International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-Advanced) specification, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 megabits per second (Mbit/s)(=12.5 megabytes per second) for high mobility communication (such as from trains and cars) and 1 gigabit per second (Gbit/s) for low mobility communication (such as pedestrians and stationary users).[5]

Since the first-release versions of Mobile WiMAX and LTE support much less than 1 Gbit/s peak bit rate, they are not fully IMT-Advanced compliant, but are often branded 4G by service providers. According to operators, a generation of the network refers to the deployment of a new non-backward-compatible technology. On December 6, 2010, ITU-R recognized that these two technologies, as well as other beyond-3G technologies that do not fulfill the IMT-Advanced requirements, could nevertheless be considered "4G", provided they represent forerunners to IMT-Advanced compliant versions and "a substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial third generation systems now deployed".[6]

Mobile WiMAX Release 2 (also known as WirelessMAN-Advanced or IEEE 802.16m) and LTE Advanced (LTE-A) are IMT-Advanced compliant backwards compatible versions of the above two systems, standardized during the spring 2011, and promising speeds in the order of 1 Gbit/s. Services were expected in 2013.

As opposed to earlier generations, a 4G system does not support traditional circuit-switched telephony service, but instead relies on all-Internet Protocol (IP) based communication such as IP telephony. As seen below, the spread spectrum radio technology used in 3G systems is abandoned in all 4G candidate systems and replaced by OFDMA multi-carrier transmission and other frequency-domain equalization (FDE) schemes, making it possible to transfer very high bit rates despite extensive multi-path radio propagation (echoes). The peak bit rate is further improved by smart antenna arrays for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications.

In the field of mobile communications, a "generation" generally refers to a change in the fundamental nature of the service, non-backwards-compatible transmission technology, higher peak bit rates, new frequency bands, wider channel frequency bandwidth in Hertz, and higher capacity for many simultaneous data transfers (higher system spectral efficiency in bit/second/Hertz/site).

New mobile generations have appeared about every ten years since the first move from 1981 analog (1G) to digital (2G) transmission in 1992. This was followed, in 2001, by 3G multi-media support, spread spectrum transmission and a minimum peak bit rate of 200 kbit/s, in 2011/2012 to be followed by "real" 4G, which refers to all-IP packet-switched networks giving mobile ultra-broadband (gigabit speed) access.

While the ITU has adopted recommendations for technologies that would be used for future global communications, they do not actually perform the standardization or development work themselves, instead relying on the work of other standard bodies such as IEEE, WiMAX Forum, and 3GPP.

In the mid-1990s, the ITU-R standardization organization released the IMT-2000 requirements as a framework for what standards should be considered 3G systems, requiring 2000 kbit/s peak bit rate.[7] In 2008, ITU-R specified the IMT Advanced (International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced) requirements for 4G systems.

The fastest 3G-based standard in the UMTS family is the HSPA+ standard, which has been commercially available since 2009 and offers 21 Mbit/s downstream (11 Mbit/s upstream) without MIMO, i.e. with only one antenna, and in 2011 accelerated up to 42 Mbit/s peak bit rate downstream using either DC-HSPA+ (simultaneous use of two 5 MHz UMTS carriers)[8] or 2x2 MIMO. In theory speeds up to 672 Mbit/s are possible, but have not been deployed yet. The fastest 3G-based standard in the CDMA2000 family is the EV-DO Rev. B, which is available since 2010 and offers 15.67 Mbit/s downstream.

See here: LTE frequency bands

This article refers to 4G using IMT-Advanced (International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced), as defined by ITU-R. An IMT-Advanced cellular system must fulfill the following requirements:[9]

• Be based on an all-IP packet switched network.
• Have peak data rates of up to approximately 100 Mbit/s for high mobility such as mobile access and up to approximately 1 Gbit/s for low mobility such as nomadic/local wireless access.[5]
• Be able to dynamically share and use the network resources to support more simultaneous users per cell.
• Use scalable channel bandwidths of 5–20 MHz, optionally up to 40 MHz.[5][10]
• Have peak link spectral efficiency of 15 bit/s·Hz in the downlink, and 6.75 bit/s·Hz in the up link (meaning that 1 Gbit/s in the downlink should be possible over less than 67 MHz bandwidth).
• System spectral efficiency is, in indoor cases, 3 bit/s·Hz·cell for downlink and 2.25 bit/s·Hz·cell for up link.[5]
• Smooth handovers across heterogeneous networks.

In September 2009, the technology proposals were submitted to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as 4G candidates.[11] Basically all proposals are based on two technologies:

• LTE Advanced standardized by the 3GPP
• 802.16m standardized by the IEEE

Implementations of Mobile WiMAX and first-release LTE were largely considered a stopgap solution that would offer a considerable boost until WiMAX 2 (based on the 802.16m specification) and LTE Advanced was deployed. The latter's standard versions were ratified in spring 2011.

The first set of 3GPP requirements on LTE Advanced was approved in June 2008.[12] LTE Advanced was standardized in 2010 as part of Release 10 of the 3GPP specification.

Some sources consider first-release LTE and Mobile WiMAX implementations as pre-4G or near-4G, as they do not fully comply with the planned requirements of 1 Gbit/s for stationary reception and 100 Mbit/s for mobile.

Confusion has been caused by some mobile carriers who have launched products advertised as 4G but which according to some sources are pre-4G versions, commonly referred to as 3.9G, which do not follow the ITU-R defined principles for 4G standards, but today can be called 4G according to ITU-R. Vodafone Netherlands for example, advertised LTE as 4G, while advertising LTE Advanced as their '4G+' service. A common argument for branding 3.9G systems as new-generation is that they use different frequency bands from 3G technologies; that they are based on a new radio-interface paradigm; and that the standards are not backwards compatible with 3G, whilst some of the standards are forwards compatible with IMT-2000 compliant versions of the same standards.

The 4G system was originally envisioned by the DARPA, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA selected the distributed architecture and end-to-end Internet protocol (IP), and believed at an early stage in peer-to-peer networking in which every mobile device would be both a transceiver and a router for other devices in the network, eliminating the spoke-and-hub weakness of 2G and 3G cellular systems.[33] Since the 2.5G GPRS system, cellular systems have provided dual infrastructures: packet switched nodes for data services, and circuit switched nodes for voice calls. In 4G systems, the circuit-switched infrastructure is abandoned and only a packet-switched network is provided, while 2.5G and 3G systems require both packet-switched and circuit-switched network nodes, i.e. two infrastructures in parallel. This means that in 4G traditional voice calls are replaced by IP telephony.

• In 2002, the strategic vision for 4G—which ITU designated as IMT Advanced—was laid out.
• In 2004, LTE was first proposed by NTT DoCoMo of Japan.[34]
• In 2005, OFDMA transmission technology is chosen as candidate for the HSOPA downlink, later renamed 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) air interface E-UTRA.
• In November 2005, KT Corporation demonstrated mobile WiMAX service in Busan, South Korea.[35]
• In April 2006, KT Corporation started the world's first commercial mobile WiMAX service in Seoul, South Korea.[36]
• In mid-2006, Sprint announced that it would invest about US$5 billion in a WiMAX technology buildout over the next few years[37] ($7.26 billion in real terms[38]). Since that time Sprint has faced many setbacks that have resulted in steep quarterly losses. On 7 May 2008, Sprint, Imagine, Google, Intel, Comcast, Bright House, and Time Warner announced a pooling of an average of 120 MHz of spectrum; Sprint merged its Xohm WiMAX division with Clearwire to form a company which will take the name "Clear".
• In February 2007, the Japanese company NTT DoCoMo tested a 4G communication system prototype with 4×4 MIMO called VSF-OFCDM at 100 Mbit/s while moving, and 1 Gbit/s while stationary. NTT DoCoMo completed a trial in which they reached a maximum packet transmission rate of approximately 5 Gbit/s in the downlink with 12×12 MIMO using a 100 MHz frequency bandwidth while moving at 10 km/h,[39] and is planning on releasing the first commercial network in 2010.
• In September 2007, NTT Docomo demonstrated e-UTRA data rates of 200 Mbit/s with power consumption below 100 mW during the test.[40]
• In January 2008, a U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) spectrum auction for the 700 MHz former analog TV frequencies began. As a result, the biggest share of the spectrum went to Verizon Wireless and the next biggest to AT&T.[41] Both of these companies have stated their intention of supporting LTE.
• In January 2008, EU commissioner Viviane Reding suggested re-allocation of 500–800 MHz spectrum for wireless communication, including WiMAX.[42]
• On 15 February 2008, Skyworks Solutions released a front-end module for e-UTRAN.[43][44][45]
• In November 2008, ITU-R established the detailed performance requirements of IMT-Advanced, by issuing a Circular Letter calling for candidate Radio Access Technologies (RATs) for IMT-Advanced.[46]
• In April 2008, just after receiving the circular letter, the 3GPP organized a workshop on IMT-Advanced where it was decided that LTE Advanced, an evolution of current LTE standard, will meet or even exceed IMT-Advanced requirements following the ITU-R agenda.
• In April 2008, LG and Nortel demonstrated e-UTRA data rates of 50 Mbit/s while travelling at 110 km/h.[47]
• On 12 November 2008, HTC announced the first WiMAX-enabled mobile phone, the Max 4G[48]
• On 15 December 2008, San Miguel Corporation, the largest food and beverage conglomerate in southeast Asia, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar Telecom QSC (Qtel) to build wireless broadband and mobile communications projects in the Philippines. The joint-venture formed wi-tribe Philippines, which offers 4G in the country.[49] Around the same time Globe Telecom rolled out the first WiMAX service in the Philippines.
• On 3 March 2009, Lithuania's LRTC announcing the first operational "4G" mobile WiMAX network in Baltic states.[50]
• In December 2009, Sprint began advertising "4G" service in selected cities in the United States, despite average download speeds of only 3–6 Mbit/s with peak speeds of 10 Mbit/s (not available in all markets).[51]
• On 14 December 2009, the first commercial LTE deployment was in the Scandinavian capitals Stockholm and Oslo by the Swedish-Finnish network operator TeliaSonera and its Norwegian brandname NetCom (Norway). TeliaSonera branded the network "4G". The modem devices on offer were manufactured by Samsung (dongle GT-B3710), and the network infrastructure created by Huawei (in Oslo) and Ericsson (in Stockholm). TeliaSonera plans to roll out nationwide LTE across Sweden, Norway and Finland.[52][53] TeliaSonera used spectral bandwidth of 10 MHz, and single-in-single-out, which should provide physical layer net bit rates of up to 50 Mbit/s downlink and 25 Mbit/s in the uplink. Introductory tests showed a TCP throughput of 42.8 Mbit/s downlink and 5.3 Mbit/s uplink in Stockholm.[54]
• On 4 June 2010, Sprint released the first WiMAX smartphone in the US, the HTC Evo 4G.[55]
• On November 4, 2010, the Samsung Craft offered by MetroPCS is the first commercially available LTE smartphone[56]
• On 6 December 2010, at the ITU World Radiocommunication Seminar 2010, the ITU stated that LTE, WiMAX and similar "evolved 3G technologies" could be considered "4G".[6]
• In 2011, Argentina's Claro launched a pre-4G HSPA+ network in the country.
• In 2011, Thailand's Truemove-H launched a pre-4G HSPA+ network with nationwide availability.
• On March 17, 2011, the HTC Thunderbolt offered by Verizon in the U.S. was the second LTE smartphone to be sold commercially.[57][58]
• In February 2012, Ericsson demonstrated mobile-TV over LTE, utilizing the new eMBMS service (enhanced Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service).[59]

Since 2009, the LTE-Standard has strongly evolved over the years, resulting in many deployments by various operators across the globe. For an overview of commercial LTE networks and their respective historic development see: List of LTE networks. Among the vast range of deployments, many operators are considering the deployment and operation of LTE networks. A compilation of planned LTE deployments can be found at: List of planned LTE networks.

4G introduces a potential inconvenience for those who travel internationally or wish to switch carriers. In order to make and receive 4G voice calls (VoLTE), the subscriber handset must not only have a matching frequency band (and in some cases require unlocking), it must also have the matching enablement settings for the local carrier and/or country. While a phone purchased from a given carrier can be expected to work with that carrier, making 4G voice calls on another carrier's network (including international roaming) may be impossible without a software update specific to the local carrier and the phone model in question, which may or may not be available (although fallback to 2G/3G for voice calling may still be possible if a 2G/3G network is available with a matching frequency band).[60]

A major issue in 4G systems is to make the high bit rates available in a larger portion of the cell, especially to users in an exposed position in between several base stations. In current research, this issue is addressed by macro-diversity techniques, also known as group cooperative relay, and also by Beam-Division Multiple Access (BDMA).[61]

Pervasive networks are an amorphous and at present entirely hypothetical concept where the user can be simultaneously connected to several wireless access technologies and can seamlessly move between them (See vertical handoff, IEEE 802.21). These access technologies can be Wi-Fi, UMTS, EDGE, or any other future access technology. Included in this concept is also smart-radio (also known as cognitive radio) technology to efficiently manage spectrum use and transmission power as well as the use of mesh routing protocols to create a pervasive network.

As of 2023, many countries and regions have started the transition from 4G to 5G, the next generation of cellular technology. 5G promises even faster speeds, lower latency, and the ability to connect a vast number of devices simultaneously.

4G networks are expected to coexist with 5G networks for several years, providing coverage in areas where 5G is not available.

Country	Network	Shutdown date	Standard	Notes
Canada	Xplore Mobile	2022-08-31	LTE	[62]
Jamaica	Digicel	2018-10-31	WiMAX	[63]
Malaysia	Yes 4G	2019-10-01	WiMAX	[64][65]
Nepal	Nepal Telecom	2021-12-??	WiMAX	[66]
Trinidad and Tobago	Blink bmobile (TSTT)	2015-03-03	WiMAX	[67]
United States	Sprint	2016-03-31	WiMAX	[68][69]
	T-Mobile (Sprint)	2022-06-30	LTE	[70][71][72]

• 4G-LTE filter
• Comparison of mobile phone standards
• Comparison of wireless data standards
• Wireless device radiation and health

• 3GPP LTE Encyclopedia
• Nomor Research: Progress on "LTE Advanced" - the new 4G standard
• Brian Woerner (June 20–22, 2001). "Research Directions for Fourth Generation Wireless" (PDF). Proceedings of the 10th International Workshops on Enabling Technologies: Infrastructure for Collaborative Enterprises (WET ICE 01). Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 6, 2006. (118kb)
• Information on 4G mobile services in the UK – Ofcom
• The Scope of 4G Technology: A Review - OM Institute of Technology & Management