Hi Blakes74G ready *crudely* means any carrier-level network...

Hi Blakes7

4G ready *crudely* means any carrier-level network elements (e,g. RAN etc) needs to be upgraded (software/capacity) to be compatible will a new ALL Internet Protocol (IP) network that 4G (LTE) is. You still require a new 4G network to plug into though.

HSPA+ on the other hand, was developed some years back to extract more speed out of your existing 3G network and can achieve data downlink rates of ~15, 20, and in certain cases, 35+ Mb per sec. The rates achievable are typically less than half that of whats expected from LTE (in most cases), but HSPA is often deployed as a "cost effective" interim step to adequately serve data-hungry customers and, to maximise the investment in your existing 3G network before upgrading to LTE.

However, I view this as purely a short term strategy for VHA as 4G is the direction ALL mobile broadband carriers around the world are heading because of the speeds, thus new added services you can run across 4G. The main reason why VHA have taken the interim HSPA step IMO, was purely a question of $ & cents.

By comparison, VHA dont have anywhere near the cash backing of a Telstra (or even Optus SingTel), for example. What had also compounded the HSPA direction, was the large losses in subscribers and therefore revenues, through what can only be described as a nightmare of last year caused by the massive networks issues VHA had. To stem the haemorrhaging, they were essentially forced to make huge (& largely un-budgeted) investments in their network to regain network stability and to pull-back (fast) their brand recognition.

Where they will find the money to nudge LTE properly remains to be seen. I am hopeful they'll obtain it sometime in the near future as VHA cannot afford to allow the others local carriers get too far ahead of them in new & emerging network advancements otherwise subscribers will ultimately make the leap.

Cheers