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Will 3G become faster as more people jump to 4G?

Just a question I was wondering as I read reviews on the Thunderbolt, a point was made about how speedy Verizon's LTE network was but they said speeds would fluctuate as more people got the service available in their area and more 4G eligible phones were running.
So that leaves me to this, as more people start the shift to "4G" in whatever form the carriers want to call it, will the carrier's 3G networks see an increase even if minor in speed as less people will be using the 3G services?
This is in mind of people like me who will not see a 4G phone anytime soon for whatever reason, contract not even close, 4G not available, etc.

i am on 3g and i get about 4.50 mbps some time even 5 mbps that is after 12:00 am day time is not that bad and i think it will get better then this

This depends on how many people are going to switch and how conjested the tower was to begin with.
If you aren't being throttled (ATT anyway), I get around 3 down and 1 up here in Tallahassee.
In large cities where there are a lot of people on single towers or in buildings and wwhatnot, those signals are going to be a lot less.
If a LOT of people switched to LTE, we might see some change, but it is probably going to be a while.
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FLAC Vest said:
This depends on how many people are going to switch and how conjested the tower was to begin with.
If you aren't being throttled (ATT anyway), I get around 3 down and 1 up here in Tallahassee.
In large cities where there are a lot of people on single towers or in buildings and wwhatnot, those signals are going to be a lot less.
If a LOT of people switched to LTE, we might see some change, but it is probably going to be a while.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA Premium App
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Well at one point, my 3G was faster but now it seems slow, maybe I'm just too used to Wifi but I'm pretty sure I'm not being throttled, I never hit the 5GB soft cap.

I get 5.5 down and 2-2.5 up in San Francisco area Don't know it will make any change unless they change the upper limit on the soft cap.

I love love 4g but 3G is better

well, you really gotta understand the technologies (if any) behind "4G"
Tmobile and ATT are now using HSPA+ for their "4G" which in reality its just 3GPP evolved
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolved_HSPA
sprint is using Winmax I believe which is gaining popularity in some areas ( I believe Clear using that as well) and Verizon is using LTE. And even LTE doesnt meet the requirements to be called "4G"
Being described as a 3.9G (beyond 3G but pre-4G) technology the first release LTE does not meet the IMT Advanced requirements for 4G also called IMT Advanced as defined by the International Telecommunication Union such as peak data rates up to 1 Gbit/s. The ITU has invited the submission of candidate Radio Interface Technologies (RITs) following their requirements as mentioned in a circular letter. LTE Advanced should be compatible with first release LTE equipment, and should share frequency bands with first release LTE.
so in reality, all these 4G marketing is just 3G technology better optimized
the requirements for 4G were a bit too demanding ITU had to lowered them down

I'm aware that the current 4G technology isn't technically 4G although I've read the governing body lowered their requirements.
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I guess it will not have any difference because it will be the same tower that houses both 3g and 4g...

ASiC79 said:
I guess it will not have any difference because it will be the same tower that houses both 3g and 4g...
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Isn't it different signals though?
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What do you prefer and why 4G Late or 42+hspa

Which service is best...
Sent from my HTC Sensation

It probably depends on the area. DC-HSPA on T-Mobile actually runs faster than Verizon LTE in some areas just because Verizon doesn't open it up enough or have enough capacity or something. The nice part is that DC-HSPA is really just a fast 3G, so even if your phone only hits 14.4 HSPA, it still goes pretty fast. T-Mobile will deploy LTE next year and if that has problems it will have DC-HSPA as a fallback.

I have T-mobile and I easily get 22mbps down, 2mbps up. My husband has Verizon and he gets 23mbps down, 7mbps up. The downlink speeds are comparable. The only difference is in the uplink speeds. Verizon has the edge here. However, I have used both phones side by side and for most tasks, there isn't a huge difference.
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4G Late?
4G LTE
-Destroys Battery life
-Sales Gimmick
4G HSPA+
-Fast enough
-Better battery life

Can anybody really distinguish, with the naked eye, which is faster? Whose testing website is really accurate? Besides bragging rights and marketing fanfare, does it make any difference?

Hi guys,
I do not need LTE due to those facts:
1) HSDPA is fast enough.
2) in common cell phone contracts over here in Germany your speed is reduced to 64kbit after you used up 300mb per month. If I had more than that we could talk about LTE.
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Looneytoon98 said:
Can anybody really distinguish, with the naked eye, which is faster? Whose testing website is really accurate? Besides bragging rights and marketing fanfare, does it make any difference?
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Nope.
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LTE plans here are more expensive. That's a good reason.
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LTE not Late
Mesaman2012 said:
Which service is best...
Sent from my HTC Sensation
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FYI there is no "Late 4G", it is called "LTE". Actually there are two types of 4G; LTE and WiMax.
LTE was first used by Verizon, but is now also used by ATT. Due to marketing "schemes" some believe the Apple iPhone 5 has 4g. False! it has HSPA+, not 4G/ Sure, HSPA+ is a ton faster than 3g, but it is still not 4G.
Sprint, and T-Mobile are now also starting to use LTE. Unfortunately I don't believe LTE is standard worldwide, meaning they use different frequency bands. Similar to how a GSM american phone, may or may not work in Europe

I'm sorry that I ever put up such a topic would you ladies and gentlemen please not respond to this stupid topic.I would like to apologize for spamming the thread with this ignorant topic. Takecare
Sent from my HTC one x

Either way, we won't be hitting 4G for another 5/10 years. Although, I can't imagine why the hell a phone needs 1Gbps down and 100Mbps up. Maybe 30 years from now those speeds will be standard.

LTE and WiMax are still 3G. They're marketed as 4G (read: FauxG). They're really 3.9G.
Only LTE-Advanced is a certified 4G tech. All the others are still 3G
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

times_infinity said:
LTE and WiMax are still 3G. They're marketed as 4G (read: FauxG). They're really 3.9G.
Only LTE-Advanced is a certified 4G tech. All the others are still 3G
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
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I know that was the case originally, but it's my understanding that the group behind the 4G standards was pushed enough to bend what it qualifies as 4G. Originally 4G was when you had a minimum of 100Mbps download, but now HSPA+, WiMax, and LTE are all considered 4G technologies.

geoff5093 said:
I know that was the case originally, but it's my understanding that the group behind the 4G standards was pushed enough to bend what it qualifies as 4G. Originally 4G was when you had a minimum of 100Mbps download, but now HSPA+, WiMax, and LTE are all considered 4G technologies.
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By name only. The carriers cried and whined for it, so the ITU caved. It's STILL "faux G" as far as many people are concerned.
Call it whatever you want. It doesn't change the fact that it's still technically based on an older technology.
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Would prefer HSPA than 4G. On 4G, it's really a battery eater. However, the highest HSPA speed I've gotten was around 3mbps and around 1-2mbps upload compared to 30-45mbps download and ~20-30mbps upload.
Normally the HSPA speeds is almost the same as running on GPRS during peak hours until the three local telco was fined for providing below standard data speeds/coverage then it managed to peak around 4-5.

Clubbysupercharged said:
Would prefer HSPA than 4G. On 4G, it's really a battery eater. However, the highest HSPA speed I've gotten was around 3mbps and around 1-2mbps upload compared to 30-45mbps download and ~20-30mbps upload.
Normally the HSPA speeds is almost the same as running on GPRS during peak hours until the three local telco was fined for providing below standard data speeds/coverage then it managed to peak around 4-5.
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That's your carrier. I've seen HSPA speeds hit 20Mb down and LTE speeds hit 60Mb down almost from seeing other speedtests.

MrObvious said:
That's your carrier. I've seen HSPA speeds hit 20Mb down and LTE speeds hit 60Mb down almost from seeing other speedtests.
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Or his location (or the hardware limitation of the handset)
Hickory, Dickory, Dox...Snowflake approves of my HOX....

MrObvious said:
That's your carrier. I've seen HSPA speeds hit 20Mb down and LTE speeds hit 60Mb down almost from seeing other speedtests.
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I know, that's my carrier problem. Their HSPA speeds is really pathetic.

Thanks for sharing

LTE>HSPA+
My best friend bought the black Iphone five (64 gig) when he came down to Jax, and in town, we compared our speed test results.
Iphone five (lte on at&t) first test- 68 mbps down/16 mbps up
Htc Amaze (faux g) best result that day-23mbps down/3 mbps up
So, strictly speed wise, he consistently was able to pull high 60's down, while my phone that theoretically can hit 42 mbps, never reached 30's. So it seems that location is an important factor, but none the less, I cant kid myself, I rooted my phone and changed the values in the build.prop file to command the phone to max out the radio, while his was straight out of the box. Imagine if he were to jailbreak that monster, its capable of 80 mbps down. The only problem is that his screen is smaller than mine, and he has some crappy plan that wont let him tether, as oposed to us, we can hack out phones to utilize our signal on something easier on the eyes.
Now bear in mind, I am just commenting on data speed, and he is back in Greensboro, North Carolina, and he only gets 20mbps down at best. Then again, 20 mbps down would be my phone on a good day in the middle of the night.

AT&T Data Speeds in NYC

I am a resident of NYC and an AT&T subscriber, currently using the Samsung Galaxy S3. LTE coverage in NYC is excellent, and I typically get 25-50 Mbps downstream, depending on the area. However, I've always been a fan of the Nexus line, so I ordered the Nexus 4 from the Play Store when they became available again a couple of days ago. Here's my question: how are AT&T's HSPA+ speeds in NYC? I'm well aware that the N4 is not LTE-enabled (the LTE Band 4 hack will not work in NYC, since AT&T runs LTE on the 700 mHz frequency here), so I'm concerned with going back to slower speeds.
LTE has really spoiled me, to the point where I would be willing (albeit reluctantly) to forgo the untainted Android experience and slow updates if data speeds will be slow.

Turn off LTE and then test your speeds. You will have your answer.
Sent from my Amaze 4G using xda premium

kgbkny said:
I am a resident of NYC and an AT&T subscriber, currently using the Samsung Galaxy S3. LTE coverage in NYC is excellent, and I typically get 25-50 Mbps downstream, depending on the area. However, I've always been a fan of the Nexus line, so I ordered the Nexus 4 from the Play Store when they became available again a couple of days ago. Here's my question: how are AT&T's HSPA+ speeds in NYC? I'm well aware that the N4 is not LTE-enabled (the LTE Band 4 hack will not work in NYC, since AT&T runs LTE on the 700 mHz frequency here), so I'm concerned with going back to slower speeds.
LTE has really spoiled me, to the point where I would be willing (albeit reluctantly) to forgo the untainted Android experience and slow updates if data speeds will be slow.
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I was curious about this myself. I am in Queens on T-Mobile (out of contract) and get 20 Mbps down and 2.5 Mbps up (faster than TWC).
If T-Mobile is an option, it's worth it! As for AT&T, I have only seen numbers for Straight Talk (via AT&T) and they are not good (less than 10 down).

big gulps huh? said:
Turn off LTE and then test your speeds. You will have your answer.
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This.
You can easily turn off your LTE and test out hspa.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

AT&T's GS3 doesn't have the toggle option to disable LTE. From what I understand, AT&T has also disabled the dialer code to turn off LTE. I'll look into it a bit further.

SpookyTunes said:
I was curious about this myself. I am in Queens on T-Mobile (out of contract) and get 20 Mbps down and 2.5 Mbps up (faster than TWC).
If T-Mobile is an option, it's worth it! As for AT&T, I have only seen numbers for Straight Talk (via AT&T) and they are not good (less than 10 down).
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Unfortunately, T-Mobile is not an option for me, as the data speeds top out at 0.5 Mbps downstream in my area (Bensonhurst). I am actually a former T-Mo subscriber who ended up leaving for AT&T. I get an average of 20-25 Mbps on LTE inside my apartment (up to 50 Mbps outside), so the Nexus 4 would really have to impress me to use it as a daily driver.

Three network vs T-mobile (Pay monthly)

Hi guys, I have a pay monthly sim which is from T-mobile and it will end in 4 Months and i am waiting for Samsung s4 release. Basically which network provider is better? I want to swap to Three because they have cheap and good plan for the S4.. What is your experience with this network provider? Do they have fast internet? are they better than T-mobile?
Regards.

LTE has been deployed in a few cities already and the DC-HSPA speeds are pretty good. Not sure about Three though as I've never really heard of them. LTE speeds seem to be consistently 20Mbps down and around 30-50msec pings from the screenshots I've seen for KC and Vegas. And getting the $30 5GB plan is really good.

I assume you're talking about the UK? Three aren't rolling out 4g until q4 of this year, tmobile will never roll out 4g, you need to go to EE for that. Three's dchspa is great from my experience-
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app

Jme369 said:
I assume you're talking about the UK? Three aren't rolling out 4g until q4 of this year, tmobile will never roll out 4g, you need to go to EE for that. Three's dchspa is great from my experience-
Sent from my HTC One using xda app-developers app
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Oh duh. lol

Tmobile just launched 4G Lte march 27th.
Sent from my HTC Sensation using xda app-developers app

I have a Nexus 4 on Three currently, using their £12.90 plan with AYCE data, speeds seem to fluctuate alot for me, between 0.5Mbps and 12Mbps in the same room of my house, depending on the day. Ping times are lower than 100ms 80% of the time, so fast page loading. My Mum is on T-Mobile (using an iPhone 4 so no DC-HSDPA, not sure if T-Mobile support it anyway) and her speeds are never higher than 2Mbps down with 200ms ping, haven't tried her sim in my phone so can't comment on if it's phone related or network, but what I suggest is get a Three payg sim, top it up with a bit of credit and check the speeds in your area, also check their coverage map as they don't have a 2G backup everywhere (only rural places with little to no 3G)

[Q] Should i disable LTE (I9505) ?

Hi, I'm from Croatia, my operator is T-Mobile.
Today they let my phone connect to their LTE network without extra charge.
The problem is, it's download is capped at 7,2 Mbps, while my HSDPA+ (H+) download rate is more than double that at 16,5 Mbps.
The LTE signal is strong throughout my city so it's always connected to 4g.
As my 3g connection is faster than my 4g connection, should i disable LTE to save battery life and have faster internet speeds?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

Mister Jozo said:
Hi, I'm from Croatia, my operator is T-Mobile.
Today they let my phone connect to their LTE network without extra charge.
The problem is, it's download is capped at 7,2 Mbps, while my HSDPA+ (H+) download rate is more than double that at 16,5 Mbps.
The LTE signal is strong throughout my city so it's always connected to 4g.
As my 3g connection is faster than my 4g connection, should i disable LTE to save battery life and have faster internet speeds?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
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there is something wrong with your network provider regarding 4G.
sure enabling 4G drains battery faster. disable it when using 3G

Nothing wrong with the operator, free LTE access is capped at 7,2 Mbps.
They offer an expensive extra cost option with 75 Mbps.
So is the free LTE option useless?
Are there any other reasons i should use LTE over HSDPA+?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

Mister Jozo said:
Nothing wrong with the operator, free LTE access is capped at 7,2 Mbps.
They offer an expensive extra cost option with 75 Mbps.
So is the free LTE option useless?
Are there any other reasons i should use LTE over HSDPA+?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
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ohh, i see. no reason just for speed. use 3G if it is faster

Mister Jozo said:
Nothing wrong with the operator, free LTE access is capped at 7,2 Mbps.
They offer an expensive extra cost option with 75 Mbps.
So is the free LTE option useless?
Are there any other reasons i should use LTE over HSDPA+?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
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LTE isn't only about raw speed, it features a much better latency than HSPA, not to mention there are not as many users connected per cells at this point, so even with your speed capped you are likely to notice improvements
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Mister Jozo said:
Nothing wrong with the operator, free LTE access is capped at 7,2 Mbps.
They offer an expensive extra cost option with 75 Mbps.
So is the free LTE option useless?
Are there any other reasons i should use LTE over HSDPA+?
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
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read this useful article http://www.diffen.com/difference/3G_vs_4G

If i understood correctly, because 4g is used by a much smaller number of phones it offers a more stable and consistent mobile data network?
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