The end of the age of internet that uses wires?

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The Largest Commercial Antenna Ever Put Into Space Will Beam 4G Where Towers Won't

By Clay DillowPosted 11.15.2010 at 1:53 pm22 Comments

Boeing has received the first signals from SkyTerra 1, a communications satellite it built for LightSquared that was hurled into orbit aboard a Proton rocket launched from Kazakhstan yesterday. The satellite, which will provide signal coverage where terrestrial towers can’t reach, is part of a new LightSquared 4G-LTE mobile broadband wireless system and boasts the largest commercial antenna reflector ever launched into space.

The mesh structure on SkyTerra 1 is an ultra-wide 72 feet across, and the increase in hardware up there should lead to space savings down here. The larger reflector will reduce the need to build bigger antennas and receivers into next-gen 4G devices, so a larger footprint in the sky translates into real estate savings in your pocket.

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-11/largest-communication-antenna-ever-put-space-will-brings-4g-where-towers-wont

That satellite uses LTE as its 4G system but Sprint and Clearwire are using a different system called WiMAX. Which is the future of 4G? Is it WiMAX as Sprint and Clear Networks have pined their hopes on? Or is it LTE such as this satellite will enable? If you'd asked me before I read the above article I might have said WiMAX but now...

Here's a little more info on the ongoing battle:

LTE vs. WiMAX: The 4G Wireless War

By Afzal Bajwa | Posted at 7:46 am on Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Remember when 3G was the future of wireless data? It’s not even universally available in the U.S. yet, and the race is already well underway to replace it. WiMAX, the 4G network technology that counts Sprint and Intel among its boosters, has a head start. But it’s losing ground to Long Term Evolution (LTE).

LTE’s promise of high-speed, two-way wireless data promises an “all-IP” mode of communications in which voice calls are handled via VoIP. It’s also designed to handle video well, and to permit roaming through multiple systems–from cellular to Wi-Fi and satellite.

...

Speed, theoretically superior to WiMAX, would give LTE an edge for bandwidth-hungry applications such as live TV and video downloads. LTE handsets are also expected to embrace automatic roaming to non-cellular systems, such as Wi-Fi and satellite.

It’s true that WiMAX, unlike LTE, is available today–but it’s only in the early stages of rollout. (Sprint-backed Clearwire, the only company to roll out WiMAX in the U.. to date, offers service only in scattered areas in sixteen states.) Analysts express doubts that phone manufacturers, networking companies, app developers, operators, and carriers will ever make WiMAX a popular replacement for 2G or 2.75G facilities and services.

http://technologizer.com/2009/05/20/lte-vs-wimax-the-4g-wireless-war/

It looks like LTE has significant advantages over WiMAX but the war isn't over yet. The launch of Boeing's new LTE satellite, however, looks to me like it might turn the tide.

LightSquared isn't going to be a closed network like Sprint, Verizon, etc. They're going wholesale with their system, anybody can partner with them to offer 4G speeds on their devices. This could get interesting:

First truly open, wholesale-only network

LightSquared is building the only national 4G-LTE open wireless broadband network that incorporates nationwide satellite coverage and offers the capacity to support the explosive demand generated by new consumer devices and mobile applications. Through its wholesale-only business model, those without their own wireless network or who have limited geographic coverage or spectrum can market and sell their own products using the LightSquared network—at a competitive price and without retail competition from LightSquared.

Convenient connectivity for all.

LightSquared enables manufacturers and retailers to provide a one-box solution for consumers, while creating new customer relationships and ongoing revenue streams for themselves. Because it is a completely open network, partners can develop their own devices, applications, and services that use the LightSquared network.

For example, by partnering with LightSquared, retailers will be able to sell devices bundled with service, enabling potential new recurring revenue streams for every device while maintaining full ownership of their customers. Telecommunications service providers can expand their coverage and capabilities via LightSquared’s nationwide 4G network without massive capital outlays. Device manufacturers can launch innovative and integrated devices, bundled with content and broadband service, while ensuring full ownership of their customer relationships.

http://www.lightsquared.com/what-we-do/

Here's what LightSquared site says:

• U.S. wireless data usage is expected to increase 40-fold in the next four years.
  Source: Coda Research Consultancy
  
• In the last year, the U.S. has fallen from 17th to 20th worldwide in broadband deployment.
  Source: Information Week
  
• Today, just 5 percent of wireless users consume 70 percent of existing wireless capacity.
  Source: Telecommunications Industry Association 2010 ICT Market Review & Forecast
  
• The U.S. currently ranks 18th globally in average broadband speed.
  Source: Websiteoptimization.com

If we are ever going to catch up from 20th place in broadband deployment it seems to me that 4G is the way to do it. Fast, cheaper than laying cables all over the place, reliable... What's not to like?

Great. But what's so special about WiMax and LTE? And how fast can they really get? Very simply, West told us, "The magic is the channel width." LTE and WiMax use really fat wireless channels, so they can move a lot of data at once. For example, AT&T's Kafka told us that "peak speed for LTE in 10MHz is about 140Mbps and peak speed in 20MHz is about 300Mbps." The thing about them being OFDM is that it makes them more flexible than 3G, since they can use a wide range of spectrum—LTE can use anything from the 1.4MHz channel up through 20MHz—whereas current 3G always uses 5MHz.

Did you see that? 300Mbps? Over the air? Whoooa. Well, don't let your panties get blown away yet. Yes, 4G will be way faster than 3G. But don't expect Asian city internet speeds wirelessly in the next couple of years. Clearwire's Barry West throws a bit of cold water on the ridiculously scorching speeds you might see hyped for LTE: To get to that 170Mbps, "that's like 8.5 bits per hertz and I've never seen a system achieve more than 5 bits per hertz." Huh? Basically, it doesn't take a whole lot of interference to slow your connection down, because it and WiMax use a complicated modulation scheme that you can't have constantly cranked to 11. So real world speeds will be slower.

WiMax is no slouch either, technically capable of up to 72Mbps.

http://gizmodo.com/5168035/giz-explains-why-wimax-and-lte-wireless-4g-data-will-blow-your-mind