Link: ITU capitulates, admits that the term '4G' could apply to LTE / WiMAX Rather than challenging US operators that abuse the term ‘4G’ (applying it to services which don’t deliver 4G speeds) the ITU’s just given them the get-out they need… This effectively now means that anything that ‘substantially improves’ upon 3G can be called 4G.
Does it really matter? Perhaps it’s not the end of the world in this case (as Engadget points out there is a term missing to adequately cover the gap between 3G and true 4G), but if the ITU won't champion clear standards consumers can understand and rely on who will?