Hello AT&T WTF
Please consult your lawyers because I expect there are teams of lawyers already preparing their 'class action' suits to send your way in a trice.
US carrier AT&T wants Apple's iPhone 4S to show "4G" in the handset's status bar when the gadget connects to its HSPA+ network. An internal memo leaked to website The Verge shows that AT&T says it's working with Apple to get the change implemented in a future version of iOS. If this is indeed the case and it is applied …
Yes LTE and HSPA+ are all 4G.
Ask the ITU, which after all are the ones who define these things. They decided this last December, here's their announcement:
http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2010/48.aspx
or in a more readable form:
http://www.phonearena.com/news/ITU-says-LTE-WiMax-and-HSPA--are-now-officially-4G_id15435
to be 3G compatible a device must be capable of 200Kb/s (though admittedly I seem to get around 2-2.5mb/s) but then to be 4G it needs to go up to 1GB/s.
Now is it just me or is that a phenomenal increase. 1GB/s is far greater than any wired BB around so surely something that should be considered 5g or even 6g! LTE would be more than enough to be considered 4G in my book!
Can't recall exactly when, maybe 18 months ago, but I'm pretty sure the ITU changed the definition of 4G such that vanilla LTE met the definition, so it is legitimate to call it 4G.
See the following for example:-
http://www.lightreading.com/blog.asp?blog_sectionid=958&doc_id=201850
This post has been deleted by its author
Ok, first of all, the iPhone IS NOT HSPA+, it's HSDPA/HSUPA which is maxxed out at 14.4Mbps... it's not 4G by any stretch of the imagination.
Also the ITE redefined it's definition in December 2010 to include LTE, WiMax & HSPA+ as "4G" technologies.
But trying to "squeeze" an HSDPA/HSUPA device under the 4G definition is a real stretch....
Or what it can or cannot do.
Apple can claim anything, 4G, 38DD, a beam me up Scotty facility, even that it will let you time travel and twist dimensions.
It makes no difference to Apple aficionados they will buy it because the salesman said it could.
If it were a car, a Trabant with an Apple logo on it, it would sell and sadly the drivers would still believe it was the best car in the world.
It is called brain washing the niave.
Apple didn't call it's phone the 4GS, unlike HTC Sensation 4G and Atrix 4G phones which aren't LTE but HTC had no problem in using the 4G name.
HTC Sensation 4G: HSDPA 14.4 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_sensation_4g-3922.php
The thing is the ITU, who DEFINE these such matters, says if the service or phone can support HSPA+ then it's 4G. So they are not lying when they call it 4G.
If you aren't happy then call the United Nations and ITU and ask them to change this back to when 4G meant LTE Advanced at 100Mbit (i.e. something no one has)