What comes after 3G?

Did you fail math in Kindergarten? 4G, duh. Oh, you want to know what 4G actually means? OK.

4G will be the generation where cellphones cease running on specialized radio networks. 4G will be the generation where cellphones become IP-based and run off what is basically a specialized "internet". Cellphones will basically become WiFi devices that run on a different frequency than WiFi. Voice calls will no longer be actual voice calls, but will become a digitized form called a data call, which is kind of similar to VOIP (Voice Over IP) that you can get for your landline. With VOIP, instead of an analog signal (or an analog signal converted to digital then converted back to analog) being sent over the telephone line, you are sending a signal that starts off as digital and remains digital. It is basically a two-way streaming audio session. 4G cellphone networks will run on the same principle. With the arrival of IP-based cellular telephony should come cheaper data rates. As it stands today, it costs about $45/mo or more for an unlimited data plan. The cellular companies say this is because it requires specialized hardware and software to provide a gateway to the internet from the cellular network, (and they're right, they need huge switches that can cost tens of millions of dollars) but the main reason is because they can get away with it because we don't have the competition in Canada like the United States (where an unlimited plan can cost $35 or less). Since the phones are already accessing the IP-based "internet" network, it is easier to provide a gateway to the actual internet.

The technology that will be powering the 4G networks is called LTE. Almost all carriers have planned to go with LTE for their 4G network (since nothing else exists yet). LTE will use a MIMO channel access method that will provide a throughput maximum (tested) of 326.4 Mbit/s using 4 antennas. The optimal cell size of an LTE network is 5km, which is very good. 30km has good performance, and 100km has acceptable performance. Sub-200ms latency is achievable using small IP packets. The mobile spectrum available can be sliced into 1.5Mhz slices, which is almost unheard of for a full radio channel. LTE also has the ability to broadcast the DVB-H standard of TV broadcasting, allowing direct TV broadcast to your phone.