4G

New Spirent solution lets carriers test and optimize their signaling networks to protect customer experience and revenues.

Mobility delivered some big surprises in 2010. Those would include the first 4G smartphones, the launch of LTE-based 4G network service from Verizon, a phenomenal growth spurt for Android, and most importantly, the introduction of the tablet as the new mobile computing platform. That's a lot to digest, and I think that 2011 will be remembered as a year where we begin to see the mobile world for the next decade beginning to take shape.

The first TV ad for the soon-to-be-launched Verizon 4G LTE mobile data service appeared over the weekend. It featured birds flying, dogs barking, some top notch special effects and the tag line "Rule the Air." Verizon also assured us theirs is "the most advanced 4G network in the world," which raises the interesting question, what exactly is "4G" and should mass market consumers really care?