Now defunct PanAmSat’s corporate tagline was, “Truth and Technology Will Triumph Over Bullshit and Bureaucracy.” Its fight against the multi-government Intelsat’s monopoly in the satellite market was captured in this marketing pitch during early 90s.
Mobile phone has triggered the funerals of state-owned monopolies worldwide. But it was dogged by the “Bullshit” of 3G or third generation issue. Soon it was followed by 4G and the press screamed, “ITU’s G-spot numbed by over-use.”
Recently the governments of two small countries – Peru and Samoa – have decided to halt the universal “Bullshit” and “Bureaucracy” regarding the speed of Internet. First the Peruvian regulator, Osiptel, has banned using ‘4G’ or ‘Fourth Generation’ in the adverts.
The watchdog said its decision was based on the need to ensure accuracy and clarity of information that operators provide to users with regard to the qualities, properties and characteristics of products and plans – a requirement under Peru’s telecoms regulations.
Osiptel noted that the term ‘4G’, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), denoted technologies with speeds ‘substantially higher’ than those currently available in Peru.
The regulator added that services currently offered under the name ‘4G’ were not materially different from those offered as ‘3G’.
Two weeks later the picturesque island of Samoa lowered axe:
The Office of the Regulator requested the companies submit evidence to support their claims and found that while there was an advancement on the services they had previously provided, they didn’t meet 4G standards as set by the International Telecommunications Union.
Fabio Leite, ITU’s deputy director of the Radiocommunications Bureau, refuses to use the term 5G to describe the next generation of ITU standards due to the often deliberate misinformation from operators and even governments as to what constitutes 3G and what is 4G. While IMT-2000 is officially 3G and IMT-Advanced is 4G, the general public remains unaware of this, he said.
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