'4G' or IMT-Advanced

‘4G’ is the term used to refer to the forthcoming "Fourth Generation" of mobile wireless services which is currently being defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The ITU is the internationally recognized authority that establish the criteria of the next generation of wireless technologies beyond IMT-2000 (3G) which they have named IMT-Advanced. and will be screening various technologies for inclusion in the IMT-Advanced family.

Since 2006, significant progress has been made by the Radiocommunication Sector of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R) in establishing an agreed and globally accepted definition of ‘4G’ wireless systems, and in 2008, the ITU-R is expected to release a full set of documentation for this definition. At that time the vision will be translated into a set of requirements by which technologies and systems can, in the near future, be determined a part of IMT-Advanced and in doing so, earn the credible right to be considered 4G.

Thus, any claim that a particular technology is a so-called ‘4G technology’ prior to that definition is in reality simply a marketing spin, creating market confusion and deflating the importance of the telecommunications industry standards. Technologies should be verified against a set of agreed-upon requirements in order to qualify as ‘4G’, and this will happen in the future when the requirements are outlined by the ITU. Only then will it be understood what is, and can be rightly and credibly called, 4G.

Additional Information

Questions and Answers

ITU-R Home Page