[Atrix 4G General] decoyd:
This is by no means a defense of AT&T's rather liberal definition of "4G," but if you want some research, this is what I came across while I was on hold. So if you're interested in having more than vague internet rumors to support your claims that AT&T isn't living up to its end of the bargin, here you go:

4G has no official definition.

ITU on 4G: http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2010/48.aspx

4G Americas on HSPA:

http://www.4gamericas.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&sectionid=247

I think the above link is actually quite damning of AT&T's actions with respect to disabling HSUPA on the Atrix. The group defines an HSPA network as one that is using both HSDPA and HSUPA (aka E-DCH) simultaneously. While 4G Americas is not a standards organization, they are a powerful telecom industry lobbying organization of which AT&T is an influential member. (see http://www.4gamericas.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&sectionid=160)

3GPP on HSPA+:

http://www.3gpp.org/HSPA

While HSPA+ is mentioned on the above linked 3GPP webpage, there is little mention of HSPA+ by name in the technological specifications --the specifications deal mostly with the constituent technologies that make up HSPA+. When HSPA+ is mentioned, from what I've read, it's mentioned as Evolved HSPA or something similar. HSDPA is frequently mentioned as it has been in the pipleline since Release 5, and HSUPA is only mentioned by this moniker in a few places --it is most commonly referred to as E-DCH or Enhanced Uplink.

I would love to see an official 3GPP release that explicitly says "For a network to qualify as an HSPA+ network, ..." but I haven't found something that helpful. The standard is a bit of a disaster because: (1) it's HUGE with over a decade of revisions, and (2) a large number of standards have been withdrawn. Many technical specifications that have not been withdrawn will mention a technology that is not being defined and reference a withdrawn specification. I'm not sure what that means for the non-withdrawn specifications.

Here are a few interesting things that I was able to pull up from the 3GPP site. Unfortunately, the specifications use a lot of "shoulds" and "mays."

From 3GPP TR 25.999 version 7.1.0 Release 7 (HSPA evolution Technical Report) "Evolved HSPA should be able to operate as a packet-only network based on utilization of the high speed data channels only (HS-DSCH, E-DCH and associated channels)."

If this is stating that an HSPA+ network must use HSUPA and HSDPA, clearly AT&T fails. Even though HSUPA is running concurrently on the network, as Atrix users can't use it, claiming the network satisfies the HSUPA requirement would be a little like your cable company claiming they provide you HBO because your neighbor has it.

Again, from the same document: "Evolved HSPA protocol architecture shall have minimum impact on [user equipment] especially in terms of complexity, to allow for easy introduction."

I think a compelling argument can be made that the loss of HSUPA functionality on the Atrix has caused problems with the Atrix working on foreign data networks. The Atrix should be able to operate on foreign HSPA+networks that are frequency-compatible, but the burden of proof is on AT&T to show that their modifications don't interfere with basic usage of the Atrix on other HSPA+ networks.

From 3GPP TS 25.319 version 7.8.0 Release 7 (Enhanced Uplink Technical Report) "The Enhanced Uplink feature shall enable to achieve[sic] significant improvements in overall system performance when operated together with HSDPA. Emphasis shall be given on the potential impact the new feature may have on the downlink capacity."

By forcing the uplink to travel on a separate network, not only has AT&T demolished the uplink speeds, downlink performance has suffered, too. I've seen speculation that the latency issues can, in part, be attributed to the fact that the uplink and downlink packets are out of sync, causing a lot of unnecessary data retransmission; although, I can't cite anything definitive to prove this.

From 25.999 "[The UTRAN architecture] should reduce user plane latency to legacy (R5,6 & 7) & beyond R7 terminals" and "reduce control plane latency to beyond R7 terminals and, if low complexity cost effective means can be

found, also to legacy terminals."

While only considering latency in one direction, on one fragment of the network, AT&T may have met these requirements, but in aggregate, latency has jumped by an order of magnitude. In 25.999, there is a table of target ping latencies, with HSPA+ being listed at <50ms. AT&T's solution is nowhere near that level of performance.

There is a lot of information in 25.999 regarding the deployment of an HSPA+ network into an existing HSPA network, but without details of how AT&T has structured their upgrade, there is little one can glean from this. Although, it is clear that HSPA networks are considered as separate entities from HSPA+ networks. For example, from 25.999:

"The potential HSPA Architecture evolution will be defined independently from enhancements in the HSPA radio interface (both layer 1 and radio protocols). Thus, the traditional UTRAN interfaces (Iu, Iur and Iub) shall be enhanced in order to support the features included in the evolved HSPA radio interface. However this does not preclude the possibility to introduce new features in the HSPA radio interface, in case they are beneficial mainly to one of the

architectures."

Here they are specifying that the HSPA standard will be updated so that the interfaces (Iu, Iub, Iur) between the various sections of the network can be shared by HSPA and HSPA+ networks. But its clear that HSPA networks are distinct from HSPA+ networks.

You can find these documents here: http://www.3gpp.org/Specification-Numbering

You have to submit your email address to download the documents, but it is very easy.