back to article AT&T asks Apple to signal iPhone 4S is a 4G phone

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 …

COMMENTS

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    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.

    1. MikeSM
      Devil

      No worries

      The Supreme Court of the US has already protected AT&T from class-action litigation.

      http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2011/04/end-of-class-actions-supreme-court-upholds-at-t-arbitration-clause.html

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Erm HSPA+ and LTE are 4G

    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

  3. ScissorHands
    Holmes

    Hail the Mageek!

    Wans't the Mageek that coined the term marchitecture?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Hail the Mageek!

      Mike coined many neologisms. Don't recall if this was one of his, but it sure sounds like it.

  4. tommy060289
    WTF?

    isn't the gap between 3g and 4g a bit much for one generation....

    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!

  5. HP Cynic

    It was bad enough when people who bought the iPhone 4 were calling GeekSquad and asking "how do I turn on the 4G?" without a major carrier misleading people about the 4S.

    Idiots.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Why would anybody stop this?

    After all, ISPs have already been able to reduce the word 'unlimited' to absolute meaningless...

  7. Anna Logg

    4G: the goalposts were moved!

    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

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ofcom sure won't buy it.

    1. BristolBachelor Gold badge
      Joke

      Nah, Ofcom will be more than happy. It means that the operators can already deploy 4G with what they've got, so they had better cough up for 4G licesnes already.

      Then Ofcom can sell the extra bandwidth that they have just stolen off the public as well! Double money!!!

  9. Zippy the Pinhead
    FAIL

    Major Fail here!

    If at first you can't compete the change the definition.

  10. This post has been deleted by its author

  11. DAN*tastik
    Go

    Pretty sure Samsung will keep an eye on any false claim!

  12. jon 50

    iPhone is NOT HSPA+

    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....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yes it is HSPA+

      Click here for explanation:

      http://www.anandtech.com/show/4943/the-iphone-4s-hspa-when-hspa-is-real-4g

  13. TomS_
    Stop

    Just what we need

    More dilution of technical terms to suit the marketing department. What T-Mobile has done is stupid. What AT&T are trying is just plain wrong.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Broke the first rule of Jobs

    Don't look behind the curtain! Pay attention to the weird man with the shiney gizmo!

  15. LarsG

    DOES NOT MATTER WHAT THEY CALL IT.....

    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.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is not Apple's move, stop blaming them

    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)

    1. Annihilator
      Paris Hilton

      Who's blaming Apple?

      It's (allegedly, it's a leaked memo with no guarantee of authenticity) AT&T who requested it, to no avail. Apple said at the launch they weren't going to get into what was and wasn't 4G.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Advertising

    They'll just advertise as "up to" 100mb/s, the same as broadband providers. The fact the technology doesn't support it is irrelevant, you'll never get it anyway.

  18. Steve Evans
    Thumb Up

    Don't worry...

    Apple have a long and consistent record when it comes to customising phones for carriers. Their reply will look like this icon (but with a different digit raised).

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