As first seen on Wired.com.
LTE (Long Term Evolution of GSM/UMTS), marketed as 4G, emerged as the winner of the broadband cellular wars following the initial release of 3G (3rd Generation Partnership Project UMTS-3GPP & EV-DO-3GPP2). During the past 5 years a plethora of technologies filled the void between 3G and the promised 4G with titles such as 3.5G (HSPA, EV-DO Rev. A), 3.75G (HSPA+, EV-DO Rev. B) and 3.9G(DC-HSPA+, EV-DO Rev.C).
Although claimed as an evolution of GSM/UMTS, LTE (3GPP Rel 8 or later) is incompatible with existing 2G and 3G wireless interfaces and requires a separate spectrum. So why go with a new standard and new frequency bands that can’t slot into the existing North American 800~850/1900 MHz bands? Well LTE is completely different to GSM (TDMA) or CDMA or even WCDMA and it boasts (more…)