The Faux 4G Debate, Enhanced

Well, it looks like I am going to have to backtrack on my tirade on the cell carriers "claiming" to have 4G service. In my defense, they are playing "Calvin ball" with the technology. They changed the rules in the middle of the game. ...... Thomas

Via The Washington Post, Business & Technology.
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But many people may not know that the iPhone 4S is capable of running on AT&T’s HSPA+ network — a technology that AT&T and T-Mobile both use to advertise their “4G” devices. HSPA+ is essentially 3G technology that’s been enhanced to run speeds close to those of 4G networks, but still runs slower than either LTE or WiMax.

The new label likely raised questions for AT&T customers who were affected by the carrier’s latest tweaks to its unlimited plan. The changes stipulate that 4G LTE customers will have their data speeds slowed down after they hit a 5 GB limit for the month; all other customers will see slower speeds after 3 GB per month.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel confirmed in an e-mail that the iPhone 4S falls into the second category.

There’s actually a lot of debate as to what, exactly constitutes 4G since the International Telecommunications Union relaxed its definition in Dec. 2010. Before then, none of the technologies in the United States — LTE, WiMax or HSPA+ — were considered fourth-generation cell networks. Now, they are.