Is fourth generation mobile nirvana or … nothing? Available to Purchase

So far fourth generation (4G) has not been well defined technically, functionally or commercially despite conceptual research having been quietly under way since 1998. But as we have not fully rolled out and digested 2.5G, let alone 3G, why on earth should we be interested in a still further mobile technology? And how will WiFi, WiMAX and existing networks figure in all of this? The answer is that 4G will fundamentally advance the way we use mobile and existing networks and repair the problems of 3G. If allowed to, 4G can take us from radio technologies and concepts of the 1920s into the next era of radio communications using “open spectrum”. And 4G may be able to answer many cost and technical problems of the earlier mobile systems. Once its technical blueprint is worked out, 4G faces enormous challenges, far more than the technical, in commercial/political battles with what it could replace. We examine its challenges here, also considering regulatory policy, which would require that the mobile element is seen as only one of at least six components. The different scenarios for its early development are also briefly reviewed.