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2015-06-04, 08:57 PM
"When it comes to wireless data networks, besides knowing the difference between 3G and 4G (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2399984,00.asp), there's another question: Which flavor of 4G do you need? Sprint was the first major wireless carrier in the U.S. with 4G, but is now upgrading its networks from WiMAX to LTE. Virgin and Boost, meanwhile, are just getting WiMAX. Which one should you pick? We've been covering WiMAX vs. LTE and testing devices since the day each technology first launched, so we can give you the full scoop.
WiMAX vs. LTE: History
The "4G" moniker is officially meaningless, but WiMAX was the first technology to call itself 4G when Sprint announced it back in 2006 (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2000673,00.asp). WiMAX descends from Wi-Fi rather than from cellular technologies, although it has some aspects in common with LTE, most notably by using a technology called OFDM as a way of packing multiple transmissions into one radio band.
The WiMAX story actually began with home connections instead of phones. WiMAX started out as a way to deliver wireless broadband to homes and businesses (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1770943,00.asp). In many parts of the country, "wireless ISPs" still deliver home broadband via WiMAX. The Lab here at PCMag has a fixed WiMAX link from Clearwire as one of our network connections. WiMAX helps ISPs deliver Internet connections without running expensive cables to every home, and speeds often run between 5-10Mbps, or about the same as DSL. In that context, at least, WiMAX isn't going away.
But you're probably wondering about "mobile WiMAX," which Sprint announced in August 2006 and finally launched in September 2008 (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2331479,00.asp). At the time, 3G networks ran at about one megabit per second, and Sprint's XOHM WiMAX promised to be at least twice as fast. Sprint took the WiMAX bet in part because at the time it was backed by Intel, which promised to put WiMAX into dozens of laptops and help make WiMAX the worldwide standard. It was also backed by Nokia, which was, at the time, the world's number-one cell phone company.
Unfortunately, Sprint squandered its lead by building its network very slowly. In 2006, WiMAX would have been a revelation, but the first city didn't go live until 2008. And by January 2010, it covered just 30 million people in 27 cities. This wasn't about any flaw in the WiMAX technology—just haplessness on the part of Sprint and its partner Clearwire. Outside of the U.S., WiMAX saw some success in Russia, Mongolia, and Pakistan, but was largely shunned in western Europe.
While Sprint dithered, the whole cell phone industry turned away from WiMAX (and Intel) to LTE, which came from the same folks who brought us GSM and promised much better compatibility with existing cell phone equipment. The LTE standard was approved in December 2008, with America's first LTE network coming from MetroPCS (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2368986,00.asp) in October 2010.
Now both Sprint and Clearwire are building LTE networks (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2398437,00.asp), and Sprint has said there won't be any new WiMAX build-out, although the network will stay turned on through 2015.
WiMAX vs. LTE: Performance
The version of WiMAX Sprint uses should deliver 30-40Mbps download speeds, and LTE can deliver up to 100Mbps. In the real world, though, they achieve nothing like those speeds. That's because a network's performance depends much more on how it's built than on the specs of the underlying technology.
Our Fastest Mobile Networks (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2386810,00.asp) results tell the tale. In our tests across the country, Sprint's WiMAX averaged about 3Mbps down, and it's currently capped to 1.5Mbps up. That's slower than most home broadband. Verizon's LTE network tripled that download speed to 9.46Mbps average, although uploads averaged about 1.35Mbps. That's roughly as fast as many home broadband packages.
But look at MetroPCS's LTE. This is the same LTE technology as Verizon uses, but in much narrower channels, with a focus on low cost rather than performance. MetroPCS averaged only 1.62Mbps down in our tests. That said, we expect Sprint's LTE to be faster than its WiMAX. Otherwise the millions of existing Sprint 4G customers will be disappointed.
LTE has another key performance advantage: It's better integrated with other cellular technologies, making for smoother transitions between 3G and 4G. WiMAX phones tend to have problems finding 4G again once they drop into a 3G area. LTE phones have less of an issue with that.
For more on Sprint's upcoming LTE network, see "Sprint: A Better Network is Coming (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404184,00.asp)" and "Sprint: LTE Speeds Will Advance (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404257,00.asp)""
Reference: PCMag.com
WiMAX vs. LTE: History
The "4G" moniker is officially meaningless, but WiMAX was the first technology to call itself 4G when Sprint announced it back in 2006 (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2000673,00.asp). WiMAX descends from Wi-Fi rather than from cellular technologies, although it has some aspects in common with LTE, most notably by using a technology called OFDM as a way of packing multiple transmissions into one radio band.
The WiMAX story actually began with home connections instead of phones. WiMAX started out as a way to deliver wireless broadband to homes and businesses (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1770943,00.asp). In many parts of the country, "wireless ISPs" still deliver home broadband via WiMAX. The Lab here at PCMag has a fixed WiMAX link from Clearwire as one of our network connections. WiMAX helps ISPs deliver Internet connections without running expensive cables to every home, and speeds often run between 5-10Mbps, or about the same as DSL. In that context, at least, WiMAX isn't going away.
But you're probably wondering about "mobile WiMAX," which Sprint announced in August 2006 and finally launched in September 2008 (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2331479,00.asp). At the time, 3G networks ran at about one megabit per second, and Sprint's XOHM WiMAX promised to be at least twice as fast. Sprint took the WiMAX bet in part because at the time it was backed by Intel, which promised to put WiMAX into dozens of laptops and help make WiMAX the worldwide standard. It was also backed by Nokia, which was, at the time, the world's number-one cell phone company.
Unfortunately, Sprint squandered its lead by building its network very slowly. In 2006, WiMAX would have been a revelation, but the first city didn't go live until 2008. And by January 2010, it covered just 30 million people in 27 cities. This wasn't about any flaw in the WiMAX technology—just haplessness on the part of Sprint and its partner Clearwire. Outside of the U.S., WiMAX saw some success in Russia, Mongolia, and Pakistan, but was largely shunned in western Europe.
While Sprint dithered, the whole cell phone industry turned away from WiMAX (and Intel) to LTE, which came from the same folks who brought us GSM and promised much better compatibility with existing cell phone equipment. The LTE standard was approved in December 2008, with America's first LTE network coming from MetroPCS (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2368986,00.asp) in October 2010.
Now both Sprint and Clearwire are building LTE networks (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2398437,00.asp), and Sprint has said there won't be any new WiMAX build-out, although the network will stay turned on through 2015.
WiMAX vs. LTE: Performance
The version of WiMAX Sprint uses should deliver 30-40Mbps download speeds, and LTE can deliver up to 100Mbps. In the real world, though, they achieve nothing like those speeds. That's because a network's performance depends much more on how it's built than on the specs of the underlying technology.
Our Fastest Mobile Networks (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2386810,00.asp) results tell the tale. In our tests across the country, Sprint's WiMAX averaged about 3Mbps down, and it's currently capped to 1.5Mbps up. That's slower than most home broadband. Verizon's LTE network tripled that download speed to 9.46Mbps average, although uploads averaged about 1.35Mbps. That's roughly as fast as many home broadband packages.
But look at MetroPCS's LTE. This is the same LTE technology as Verizon uses, but in much narrower channels, with a focus on low cost rather than performance. MetroPCS averaged only 1.62Mbps down in our tests. That said, we expect Sprint's LTE to be faster than its WiMAX. Otherwise the millions of existing Sprint 4G customers will be disappointed.
LTE has another key performance advantage: It's better integrated with other cellular technologies, making for smoother transitions between 3G and 4G. WiMAX phones tend to have problems finding 4G again once they drop into a 3G area. LTE phones have less of an issue with that.
For more on Sprint's upcoming LTE network, see "Sprint: A Better Network is Coming (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404184,00.asp)" and "Sprint: LTE Speeds Will Advance (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404257,00.asp)""
Reference: PCMag.com