{"id":4238,"date":"2012-07-04T08:30:42","date_gmt":"2012-07-04T13:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=4238"},"modified":"2012-07-04T08:30:42","modified_gmt":"2012-07-04T13:30:42","slug":"will-4g-change-mobile-broadband-in-the-caribbean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2012\/07\/will-4g-change-mobile-broadband-in-the-caribbean\/","title":{"rendered":"Will 4G change mobile broadband in the Caribbean?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The recent news by Digicel of the launch of 4G mobile does signal that mobile broadband technology in the Caribbean is developing. But what does all this mean and what impact might it have on the current mobile broadband environment?<\/em><\/p>\n

Last week, Digicel<\/a> announced it was launching 4G mobile broadband in Jamaica. Cable & Wireless, which operates the Bahamas Telecommunications Company<\/a> (BTC) has also been upgrading its mobile network to 4G, and should be completing the works in a few weeks. Based on earlier announcements by the major providers, by the end of the year, most Caribbean countries would be well on the way to having at least one network offering 4G mobile broadband. However, what does \u201c4G\u201d mean, and what might be some of the implications of this upgrade?<\/p>\n

What is 4G?<\/h3>\n

The Fourth Generation (4G) mobile technology standard refers to a key developmental milestone in the evolution of the mobile communications. The First Generation standard was based on analogue technology and was limited to voice. For Second Generation (2G), voice communication used digital technology, the most popular of which was the Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication. With Third Generation (3G), the capability to support data services was firmly established.<\/p>\n

Under the 4G standard as defined by the International Telecommunications Union<\/a> (ITU), one of its main characteristics is that the networks are all IP packet switched networks. This means that they can support both voice and data traffic on a common infrastructure with no distinction being made between the two. Additionally, and among other things, 4G would offer considerably faster upload and download spends than all previous standards, as reflected Table 1.<\/p>\n

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Table 1: Maximum data speeds for select mobile standards [Source: Discuss Tech<\/p><\/div>However, in December 2010, the ITU relaxed its definition of 4G to include forerunners to 4G, such as<\/p>\n

\u2026 LTE and WiMax, and to other evolved 3G technologies providing a substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial third generation systems now deployed<\/em>. (Source: ITU<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Technologies that comply with the \u201ctrue 4G standard\u201d would offer considerably improved features and capabilities over earlier standards, including the \u201cPre-4G\u201d forerunners. Hence in the eyes of many in the industry, this relaxation by the ITU of what constitutes 4G appears to be somewhat gimmicky, since it inherently undermines the distinction that perhaps ought to be made when standards such as LTE Advanced and WiMax 2 are finally implemented.<\/p>\n

Okay, so we have \u201c4G\u201d, now what?<\/h3>\n

Although the transition from mobile Internet in the Caribbean from 2.75G to 4G is very commendable, due to the pricing for mobile Internet\/broadband plans, vast portions of our population will still have not consistent and affordable access to the Internet. Table 2 illustrates the proportion of a person\u2019s average monthly income in Bahamas and Jamaica (where 4G is being currently offered) that would be consumed by a sample of the 4G mobile plans available in those countries.<\/p>\n

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Table 2: Comparison of monthly spend and the percentage of average monthly income for select 4G mobile broadband plans offered in the Bahamas and Jamaica (Sources: Provider websites, the UN)<\/p><\/div>\n

Across the region, the majority of citizens own a mobile phone, and in many countries, a significant number of persons appear to own two or more handsets. Moreover, a sizeable portion own a smartphone device, which ahs been\u00a0designed for Internet\/data services, rather than the basic phone that is generally limited to calling and text messaging services.<\/p>\n

Due to the still high pricing for mobile broadband services, most persons using mobile handsets tend to access the Internet via Wi-Fi. In the majority of instances, Wi-Fi access might be free, although it might be password protected. However, users are dependent on the generosity of the Internet broadband customers who have installed wireless routers in order to share this connectivity. It also means that in the absence of Wi-Fi, e.g. if it is not available or the network is closed, affordable alternatives might be limited.<\/p>\n

More importantly, there has been a steady decline of Internet activity via PC and laptops. Increasingly, the mobile phone, tablet, and other portable devices are becoming the device of choice to access the Internet. In that regard, it has been projected that by 2020, persons could be using as much as 1GB of mobile data per day, and will be using it for a broad range of activities, including, movies\/video, online gaming and mobile web activities.<\/p>\n

Mobile Broadband 2020 Infographic<\/a><\/strong>