Understanding the 4G alphabet soup

MANILA, Philippines - A pinch of LTE, a dash of HSPA+, and a dollop of Mbps: the perfect ingredients for a healthy serving of 4G alphabet soup. 

By far the most complex dish cooked up by the telecom industry, the hodge-podge brings with it a bowlful of tech terms which can overwhelm even those with techie-est of taste buds.

To make things worse, misinformation and false claims about the true meaning of 4G technology have been thrown around like poorly concocted rumors whose sole purpose is to fan the flames of fiction.

To help you waft through the fusion of confusion, here is a collection of the many letters and acronyms, which give the next generation broadband broth its unique flavor.

First, the basics

Literally 4G means fourth-generation. It refers to the forthcoming evolution of today’s mobile networks, which will allow them to transmit large amounts data in the fastest way possible. With 4G, you can enjoy faster download speeds on your mobile gadgets such as your laptop, your tablet, and soon, even your phone more so than you already do on a 3G (third-generation) connection.

As prescribed by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations agency that governs the telecom industry, a wireless connection should be capable of transmitting data at speeds of at least 100 megabits per second — or Mbps — for it to qualify as 4G.

Heavy on the LTE

The technology most telcos around the world acknowledge to be the most logical step into 4G is LTE or Long Term Evolution. Given its unparalleled potential for operating at high speeds, LTE has been introduced in the United States, Japan, and in Europe through the efforts of telecom companies Verizon, NTT DoCoMo, and TeliaSonera, respectively.

In the Philippines, Smart Communications, Inc. is the first and only telco to introduce LTE.

Adding to the mix

Another technology which offers improved connection speeds is HSPA+ which stands for Evolved High Speed Packet Access. Smart has been testing HSPA+ technology since 2009 and like LTE, is ready to provide a better mobile and broadband Internet experience to all Filipinos.

But while HSPA+ is definitely faster than an ordinary 3G connection it rides on the existing 3G infrastructure and capacity, falls short of the ITU’s benchmark. The same goes with WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), another network technology which Smart has made available commercially in 2010, which is capable of speeds of up to 40Mbps.

The secret ingredients

For a 4G network like Smart LTE to function efficiently, an extensive infrastructure of fiber optic cables or FOCs is essential. FOCs are land-based cables which carry data from base stations or “cell sites,” to the core network.

Smart and its parent company, the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., currently have over 42,000 kilometers of FOCs enveloping Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

The FOCs are arranged in loops to make the network more resilient and more stable in the event something happens to the primary line of communication. An additional 3,000 kilometers of cabling is slated to be installed before the year ends.

Served soon

Smart is introducing both LTE and HSPA+ in Metro Manila. Soon after, several major urban centers such as Cebu and Davao and other cities and municipalities around the country will also experience LTE and HSPA+.