The Myth of Long Term Evolution (4G LTE)
The attainment of the fastest communication technologies in Nigeria by Internet Service Providers has become more than mere rivalry, but somewhat a stamp of approval for the consumer. Long Term Evolution, commonly marketed as 4G LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies; it increases the capacity and internet speed by using a different radio interface together with core network improvement.
Theoretically delivering a maximum download speed of 37.5 megabyte per second, compared to the 21 megabyte per second theoretical top speed that current HSPA+ (3.75G) networks offer.
First spreading the myth that the days of buffering videos and unstable video calls has ended, Globacom Nigeria in January 2011 supposedly became the first telecommunications company to launch the 4G LTE Network in Nigeria, Group Chief Operating Officer of Globacom, Mr. Mohamed Jameel who unveiled the technology said though people could already browse the Internet or send e-mails using HSPA-enabled systems or send and receive video, music using G-phones, the experience with LTE will be even better.
He added that the technology would further enhance more demanding applications like interactive TV, mobile video blogging, advanced games or professional services, enabling more Nigerians to be on top of their game and thereby ruling their world”, he added.
But three years later, there is still no sign of the Glo 4G LTE Network across Nigeria, bidding the throbbing question as to the authenticity of the ‘launch’.
Not until the summer of 2013, when Spectranet pilot tested the 4G LTE Network in Lagos that people believed it could happen. Hoping that the days of unreliable internet speed was over with the promise of a 4 megabyte per second download speed, which in practical terms turned out closer to 3 megabyte per second, and is much slower than the regular 3G mobile network without any technical hiccups.
In the continuing quest for 4G LTE, Swift Networks in the last quarter of 2013 launched its 4G LTE and was poised to be the best, as its Chief Operating Officer – Mr. Chukwuma Okoye stated, when he said, “This will be Nigeria’s fastest and most reliable 4G LTE network; we will not rush this launch and will take every care to ensure that we get it right the first time. Getting the most aggressive users from our current customer base to test-drive it will enable us to debug and fine-tune it to meet the exerting demands of our target customer base”,
www.techcabal.com in test running the speed of the new network, discovered that the swift 4G LTE network ran at a download speed of 16 megabyte per second, as seen below
As opposed to the average speed that we had become accustomed to, also seen below 
Simply put, if Swift 4G LTE maintained the speed recorded at its pilot test stage when the product was fully launched, it will deliver download speeds that are much faster than the current fickle 3G network available now.
The latest contender in the game is Smile Networks, who promises to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians, who first began commercial network services in Kampala, Uganda in November 2009 and provides the LTE network in South Africa and Tanzania. And according to the group CEO Irene Charnley sees a lot of benefits for the users, as their 4G LTE will radically improve internet experience, and the ability to enhance access to the most advanced form of communications whilst substantially reducing costs of operations.
“4G LTE is making the internet come alive for our costumers due to the quality of the user experience”, stating that, “surfing the internet, downloading music and movies without buffering, communicating via HD voice or uninterrupted HD video calling – the internet experience has become better, faster, easier and more reliable”
In validation, www.mobility.com.ng ran a test on the smile mifi device and recorded full signal bars in Ikeja, Surulere and its environs while in places like Alagbole recorded fading signals but still had a download speed of 7 megabytes per second, as seen below.
After all that is said and done, the three internet service providers in Nigeria with the 4G LTE network still fall short from the theoretical standard speed of 37.5 megabyte per second that is attributed to the Long Term Evolution network in other parts of the world. So, the question is have you ever experienced internet speed of 37.5 megabyte per second.