Samsung appears to have won the race to be the first device manufacturer to gain approval from the Federal Communications Commission for a phone based on the 4G LTE standard.
The state of 4G in 2010
Currently known as the Samsung R900, the device will have LTE connectivity as well as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G EV-DO Rev. A connectivity. The FCC tested the phone in a lab in Columbia, Md., last month and found that it complied with the appropriate FCC rules. Although the FCC’s test results didn’t specifically mention which carrier will get the phone, Phone Scoop reports that the spectrum used in the tests matches up with prepaid wireless carrier MetroPCS, which had already announced plans to launch an LTE device in certain markets by year-end.