Mobile communications have evolved from calls and text messages to Internet browsing and streaming video. These latter  services are provided with 3rd generation technology (or 3G for short) by mobile phone operators and with WiFi by broadband providers. 4G (4th Generation) communications are considered to be based on WiMAX technology. WiMAX can be thought of as enhanced WiFi services. The key difference is that where the latter provides hotspots for contained areas such as colleges, shopping centres or cafés, WiMAX hotspots can provide coverage for an entire city.

WiMAX is also known as IEEE 802.16 and is intended for wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs) and can provide access for up to 50km for a fixed WiMAX station. For mobile stations access is provided for up to 15km. WiMAX provides the same types of data rates as WiFi but over a longer distance.

Despite the implication that 4G is a successor to 3G mobile phone technology, WiMAX can essentially be seen as a evolution of WiFi. In fact, 4G is a term that is applied to multiple wireless technologies. Long Term Evolution (LTE) is often considered to be a 4G technology even though it does not comply fully with the standards defined by the ITU (International Telecommunications Union). Despite this, LTE has been adopted by most mobile phone operators in Europe, Asia and North America while WiMAX is seen as a product for niche applications. The LTE market is forecast to be US$11 billion by 2014.

So what does LTE do? Like WiMAX, LTE aims to increase the speed and capacity of mobile networks, focusing on cellular networks in particular. LTE is an evolving standard while most recent releases being proposed as candidate to meet 4G technology requirements.

Currently, then, 4G can be seen as a catchall term for a number of data communication standards that will increase data rates for mobile computing, thus facilitating the evolution of pervasive computing - WiMAX and LTE being the key standards. The question we are going to examine is how 4G technologies can assist in the building of smart ecosystems.

The key value proposition for smart ecosystems is that the rich pool of data that is provided by these systems. However, there is a question as to how this data can be returned to a central Information System. Currently the options are to use 2G or 3G cellular technology or WiFi. With the latter, a local hotspot is required. One can therefore see the advantage of using WiMAX which has a much greater range which smart objects can avail of to relay their data in a timely fashion. One could however argue that for many smart objects such as smart meters 2G or 3G technology would suffice. This is certainly true for text based data such as smart meter readings but may not be sufficient for multimedia data. For example, motes in Wireless Multimedia Sensor Networks (WMSN) can capture data with microphones and cameras and can be used for security applications. Similarly, RFID can also incorporate multimedia to provide services for smart buildings and for time and attendance solutions. GPS can also be used for video tracking and provide real-time video monitoring. These applications all require high data speeds and close proximity to an access point. Given the range provided by WiMAX data could be captured and relayed throughout a wide area while LTE can provide the data rates required for multimedia streaming.