Sprint 4G Coverage – Another 8 Cities
Sprint 4G is extending its 4G network. Currently available in a few selected cities across the US, Sprint has now confirmed that 4G phone services will be coming this year to Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Houston, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Sprint has also strongly hinted that there will be addition 4G cities announced as the year progresses.
Why The 4G Phone Will Kill Pay By Minute Calls
4G phones are coming and both WiMAX and LTE variations of the service will soon be able to deliver high quality voice calls over an IP network, rather than a standard mobile phone network. That means that rather than pay by the minute, we could soon be paying a flat rate for all 4G calls.
It’s the like the difference between using Skype and a normal pay as you go landline.
Analysts predict flat rate mobile phone calls on a 4G phone will be commonplace within three years. Even if mobile operators would prefer to continue charging by the minute, the availability of flat rate services like Skype and TruPhone via their own 4G network means they’ll have no choice but to offer flat rate phone calls themselves.
Canada 4G in Vancouver
The first 4G phone network in Canada will launch in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Craig Wireless says the Vancouver 4G network will start as a data only service but that it expects to be selling 4G phones by the end of the year.
The Canada network will be extended to Winnipeg later this year – along with increased coverage throughout Vancouver, Vancouver Island and the interior of British Columbia.
Sprint 4G Phones By Year End
Sprint has been busy this last week denying wide circulated reports that it will introduce a 4G phone before summer.
Although a Sprint executive reportedly told Forbes this week that the mobile company plans to introduce a 4G WiMAX phone by the summer, the official Sprint line now seems to be that it’s sticking to its earlier promise of phones by the end of the year.
Hmmm. Anyone else smell a fish?
4G WiMAX Coverage – Billion by end of 2011
The WiMAX Forum reports that 4G WiMAX technology is expected to extend coverage to one billion mobile phone users by the end of next year.
Even by the end of this year the WiMAX Forum says 4G WiMAX coverage should reach around 800 million phone users.
WiMAX technology is currently in use in 147 countries and is available to 620 million people. A further boost to the numbers will come this year when Clearwire and other US mobile phone companies launch 4G in large metro areas like New York, San Francisco and Houston.
4G WiFi Hotspots with Wi-REACH Classic
Mobile device company Connect One has just unveiled the Wi-REACH Classic a personal WiFi hotspot that can pump out a wireless network from a 4G phone connection.
The Wi-REACH Classic creates a personal WiFi cloud that can be shared between 10 WiFi devices. Upgradeable software means the device can be upgraded to support 4G phone networks.
Price? $99.
Ericsson Breaks 4G Speed Record
Mobile phone company Ericsson set a world record at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona when it showcased a LTE / 4G phone with a download speed of 1 GB per second.
The high download speed is possible by combining two types of 4G technology: Multi Carrier technology and Multiple Input Multiple Output.
Ericsson has already signed commercial contracts with five major mobile phone operator – AT&T, Verizon and MetroPCS in the US, TeliaSonera in Norway and Sweden and NTT DoCoMo in Japan.
Verizon 4G – Two Months To Go
Executive vice president and CTO for Verizon 4G, Dirk Lynch, has confirmed the company is on track to launch its 4G phone network soon.
He said Verizon was in the final testing phase of its 4G technology and that the current testing in Boston and Seattle will be complete within 60 days. At that point, Verizon will announce the details of its commercial 4G rollout.
Previously, Verizon has promised to launch in 25 – 30 markets this year.
