So you thought you knew what 4G was, or at least knew that you didn't know, but now it's time to flip the switch once again.

Over the weekend the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) loosened its definition of 4G to include LTE, WiMax, and HSPA+.

"As the most advanced technologies currently defined for global wireless mobile broadband communications, IMT-Advanced is considered as '4G,' although it is recognized that this term, while undefined, may also be applied to the forerunners of these technologies, LTE and WiMax, and to other evolved 3G technologies providing a substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial third generation systems now deployed," the ITU said a statement.

In other words, all that public bickering over which carrier really has 4G (previous answer: zero) was all for naught. Based on the new guideline, commercially deployed LTE (Verizon), WiMax (Sprint) and HSPA+ (T-Mobile) can all call themselves "4G."

The ITU stands by its official definition of 4G speeds, LTE Release 10 and WiMAX 2, which are being tested and not expected to deploy commercially until 2012. But it's likely that the UN subsidiary just grew weary of re-educating consumers with its stringent definition.

"When the world's mobile carriers decided to ignore the ITU's definition of 4G, it really put the organization in a bind," PCMag's lead mobile analyst Sascha Segan said. "To remain relevant, the ITU had to find some way to fall in line with the language that much of the global cell phone industry is insisting on using."

4G Americas supports the ITU's technical definition of 4G, but sees the rationale of relaxing the category for the sake of consumers.

"4G has taken on a meaning for mobile broadband consumers over the past few years—new, fast and offering richer content and more advanced services. This was largely driven by marketing rather than a technical or standards-based definition of 4G," said a spokeswoman for 4G Americas.

The 4G Americas spokeswoman also believes LTE will become the leading 4G technology standard. On the other hand, Ovum recently said HSPA/HSPA+ will dominate for at least five more years.

A T-Mobile spokesman said the carrier was "pleased" the ITU decided to clarify its definition to include "evolved 3G technologies," which is how the carrier had been defining its super-fast network.

In 2008, Sprint Clearwire was the first to ignore the ITU's definition and marketed its WiMAX network as 4G. Two years later, Verizon and MetroPCS followed suit by calling its LTE system "4G" and, more controversially, T-Mobile advertised its HSPA+ network as 4G as well.

Whatever you call it, from a consumer's perspective, perhaps it just boils down to this 4G speed comparison chart.