The Internet has become an integral part of today's fast-paced life. These days, the quality of Internet connection also affects our day-to-day activities. A person using a slow and an unreliable Internet connection is more likely to get frustrated while carrying out simple tasks on the internet, than a person using a high speed fiber Internet. This brings us to the question regarding the best mobile broadband Internet access technology amongst those available. This Buzzle article compares the two most advanced 4G network technologies―WiMAX and LTE. These 4G technologies come under the category of mobile broadband. Let's discuss them one by one. WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) comes under IEEE 802.16e wireless standards. It is also called as Wireless MAN, but is marketed under the name WiMAX. According to practical observations, WiMAX is capable of downstream rates ranging from 30-40 Mbps, but WiMAX Release 2 based on IEEE 802.16m can deliver data rates of up to 1 Gbps. WiMAX was developed to provide Internet access to remote areas, and also as a mobile wireless broadband service. It is not only cheaper to implement than the 3G networks, but also provides more download and upload speed. LTE (Long Term Evolution) is based on the most widely used GSM technology. The data rates offered by LTE are substantially higher to that offered by GSM, as it uses different radio interface and also has many improvements in the core network. It was developed by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) and was specified in Release 8 and Release 9 documents. LTE-Advanced is the latest version of 4G LTE and is specified in the Release 10 documents of 3GPP. LTE-A qualifies as a true 4G network as it can achieve data rates of the order of 1Gbps and above. WiMAX and LTE-Advanced do not differ much as far as their underlying technology is involved. OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access) is used for uplinking and downlinking in WiMAX, and for downlinking in LTE-A. For uplinking, LTE-A uses SC-FDMA, which is superior to OFDMA but has increased time domain processing.

4G Tech	Theoretical Data Rate (Mbps)
Downstream	Upstream
WiMAX	75	25
LTE	100 - 326.4	50 - 86.4

Well, it depends. No definite answer exists for this question. The speed and latency offered by these 4G networks depend on the network provider, network congestion, signal strength, and many other factors. The quality of service provided by a network provider doesn't depend only on the underlying network technology, but also on the way the network is put together. It also depends on the number of active users in a cell and the mobility of the user. Our Advice would be to find out more about the wireless carriers operating in your area, and choose the one whose tariffs and quality matches your budget and requirements.