Is the US 3G war finally going to happen? Well, war may be too strong a word but it looks like the fireworks for the WiMAX vs LTE rivalry will be witnessed in the next few months. Rumors and rumblings indicate that the commercial release of Verizon's LTE 4G network has been set on November 15. This date could mark the first day of the LTE vs WiMAX battle on US soil. 

 

However, some experts think that the WiMAX vs LTE scenario has been blown out of proportions. Indeed, CLEAR and Sprint have indicated that a merge between the 4G technologies is possible. They have also shown a willingness to shift to LTE should the the situation arise.  

 

Several experts also think that the LTE vs WiMAX competition boils down to a battle of spectrum holdings. Both 4G technologies offer similar peak DL/UL speeds but the spectrum the use are different. So there may be no clear winner in the 4G battle n the next few years since a competition for spectrum holdings may take several years. 

 

There will be different facets to this impending clash. Or skirmishes if you want to be consistent with warlike terminologies. Both technologies will compete in pricing,market segmentation, devices and other areas. 

 

I'm looking forward to the possible benefits of a WiMAX vs LTE match up. Are you?