[Closed] 4G phones - I probably know the answer already 🙂

Everyone will offer 4G soon, most will be at the same time.

Is it a big deal? Very much so but it depends on your requirements.

We're getting 6Mb at a site where we are told it's a very poor signal. We're using a noddy indoors modem sat on a window ledge, they reckon it'll at least double if we use an external antenna. if you have significant data download requirements then yes, it's going to be very useful for you.

Judging by the alarming amount of time that my phone still spends outside of HSDPA reception, I strongly suspect that by the time we have a usable 4G network in place (as opposed to covering the centre of London off-peak on alternate Tuesdays and some village in Wales you've never heard of, so long the wind blows East and as it's not raining), the iPhone 7 will be out.

4G is a very appealing prospect, but I don't think (personally) it's worth worrying too much about right at this stage. That said, I wouldn't put it past Apple to pump money into a provider towards network upgrades, so who knows. I could be wrong, it might be worth reading up to see exactly where the networks are and what their roadmap is. I'm 99% sure it's on Wikipedia somewhere, I remember reading it a while back.

We're getting 6Mb at a site where we are told it's a very poor signal. We're using a noddy indoors modem sat on a window ledge

Just did a speedtest.net of the 3G signal on my iPhone and I get 2.71Mbps

That is [i]good enough[/i] for my phone requirements to be honest, so I'm not convinced 4G will have that huge an impact (at first anyway).

They've not even had the spectrum auction yet for 4G.

4 years till reasonable coverage in the UK IMO.

The net spectral efficiency of a loaded 4G network is not that much more than a 3G/3.5G network, so once the 4G networks load up, there won't be a massive difference. However, when they first launch, early adopters will have them to their selves and see fantastic speeds (unless the operators traffic shape every one), similar to when a new 3G network launches.

... assuming the handsets are still compatible by that point. (-:

Get 3.85Mbps on my network VF and get 3.32Mbps via wifi

4G isn't just about the speed though, it's about the reliability and delivery capability. The amount of available bandwidth might technically not be that much more than a 3G network now but you will experience more effective bandwidth because of the technical improvements built into the protocol.

Wireless transmissions are terribly ineffective because of the legacy crap built into them, the poor way antenna output overlaps and the heavy overhead built in to the older protocols. 4G goes a long way to resolving all these issues.

Is the Apple going to be real 4G though?

The iPad isn't.

I'm waiting for the 5G

4G isn't just about the speed though, it's about the reliability and delivery capability.

It's also about breaking a whole lot of the Freeview infrastructure that's only just been upgraded for many people.

I smell a rat in EE being allowed to create a network before the auction of airspace to all bidders. Someone will be making a a pile o cash. I can also see it killing the landline once and for all .. if I can get 4Mbps with low latency over the air I'll pull the plug myself, let alone 100Mbps.

Yeah, the only issue there is when the carriers still want ten quid per gig off you for data.

It's got to happen sooner or later though.

I'm waiting for the 5G

With Flash?

Would you not be better getting a handset that works on UMTS on the 900 frequency! We have been putting loads of U900 upgrades in for O2 lately! Exciting and busy times for us Telecomms engineers 😀

Is the Apple going to be real 4G though?

Probably.

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/08/a-4g-iphone-5-could-run-on-everything-everywheres-4g-network-this-year/

With Flash?

That's what the rumours are saying Gee2DaEss... 😀

<tin foil hat to avoid mobile phone death rays on>

Orange / T-Mob will have 99.5% 4G coverage by the end of 2015 - they are already at 98% ish. They've been busy upgrading their base stations for the last 18 months (with Huawei) to do a couple of things:

- swap out al of the hardware at 27,000 macro cell sites
- enable 3G from all base stations on the current T-Mob / Orange networks - even in rural areas
- Enhance the quality and range of the 2G service
- Put in the hardware that supports 4G at 800, 1800 and 2600 Mhz
- plug in a huge amount of IP backhaul to enhance speed and capacity (the first sign of this will be nationwide HSDPA+ by the end of this year).

The new base stations are software upgradeable, so come September a lot can be switched to 4G at 1800Mhz very quickly - with the rest coming on line over the following 24 months via the existing upgrade project.

4G will actually come in two tranches - the first will be the 1800 flavour that we'll get in the autumn, with further tranches at 800 and 2600Mhz when the spectrum auction concludes next year - the former will give great coverage in rural areas and will be less prone to cell site breathing (whereby the 3G coverage shrinks as more people use it).

Orange have pretty much sold on part of their 4G spectrum to Three (with whom they have a mast sharing agreement) so Orange will deploy 4G first with Three not far behind - it should also give Three access to 2G at 1800Mhz.

</tin foil hat to avoid mobile phone death rays off>

giant-scum - have 02 been sorting out backhaul at the same time?

As I understand it, o2 is still crippled by their lack of backhaul even on upgraded sites - it's all very well having 900Mhz 3G in urban areas but that doesn't make much difference if the base station is still connected by a dial up modem.

4G? i'm lucky to get 3G half the time.

Shame the custome service will still be shite 😆

Farmer john most if not all sites we are going to are fibre fed. Worked on O2 on and off for years and have noticed a lack of g1800 on sites in Scotland and the North of England!

Orange / T-Mob will have 99.5% 4G coverage by the end of 2015 - they are already at 98% ish.

And do they include stats for people on trains as I find train lines are allergic to 3G (or even any phone signal at all)

I'm looking forward to 4g although moving from o2 to 3 has been a revelation for data speeds on my phone.

My home broadband is 3.5mb with 0.8 mb upload.

On 3 network I get 5.6mb download and 3.5mb upload at my home and almost always have H or H+ data wherever I go.

if i were you,i would like to await to see how apple pans out,then decide it. 😀

Does 4g have better range or something ? I bloody hope so

I live between 2 cities (Salisbury/Southampton 10miles each way) on a busy a-road
Only one mobile operator can get a signal to my house AT ALL
Locally, the DAB reception (along M27 for example) is patchy

As Thatcher once said - "99% my arse !"

Im thinking that 4G may well be quite a big deal then and I really should wait for a sniff at the new iphone

Id assumed it would be 4G capable but with no network to support it outside London for a little while
This looks to have been incorrect

Id never really 'got' iphones as phones, more shiny consumer objects, but this looks to blow the opposition out of the water, TMobile/Orange must be laughing their socks off

Still a tough call for me
4G iphone vs. Galaxy S3 using the TMobile wifi cloud out of the house at half the price............

So when I get a little 'H' appear on my Android mobile, what does it mean?

the 99.5% is population - covering 99.5% of landmass would require an awful lot of £1/2m cell sites in locations where no-one ever goes.

By comparison, I think o2 and Vodafone are still lagging at around 93% of population coverage for 3G - so well behind T-Mob / Orange and Three.

What does 4G do for your battery? An iPhone with less than 1 day battery life is pants already, wouldn't want it getting worse...

So when I get a little 'H' appear on my Android mobile, what does it mean?

HSDPA. Between 1 and 7Mbps depending on provider and phase of the moon. It's the preferable connection type on a 3G network.

[url= http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/science-technology/speculation-continues-over-what-the-fourth-g-is-2012082238767 ]Speculation continues over what the fourth G is (Daily Mash)[/url]

So how does the pecking order go in terms of data speed?

3,3G,H,H+,4G?

the 99.5% is population - covering 99.5% of landmass would require an awful lot of £1/2m cell sites in locations where no-one ever goes.

Agreed, but it would be a bloody good idea to cover where people are likely to need their phones, not just where they live and work. You know like major transport routes etc.

Unless their figures include this as part of their coverage stats then they are fairly meaningless.

Never be an early adopter...

giant-scum - have 02 been sorting out backhaul at the same time?

As I understand it, o2 is still crippled by their lack of backhaul even on upgraded sites - it's all very well having 900Mhz 3G in urban areas but that doesn't make much difference if the base station is still connected by a dial up modem.

This pretty much applies to all the operators, they've each got roughly 16,000 cell sites with a few E1s (2Mb) connections to them. Swapping the whole BH network out to higher speed connections is not a trivial undertaking....

This pretty much applies to all the operators, they've each got roughly 16,000 cell sites with a few E1s (2Mb) connections to them. Swapping the whole BH network out to higher speed connections is not a trivial undertaking....

South Korea seem to manage okay!

South Korea seem to manage okay!

Yes, but they don't have to deal with BT.. 👿

Bain of my life at the moment trying to get Wayleaves signed so we can upgrade the Sites..

I'm all for 4G only IF the signal is stronger than 3G.. I'm lucky to get 3G some days.. I still think that mobile reception is pretty pants!

I would rather we had better coverage rather than a speed increase.