Help Does 4G indicator also mean 4G-LTE or is that a separate indication

[johnmcneely]

Cricket has been talking up that they will have 4G-LTE in Denver for months. So far no cigar. A friend of mine is traveling in Tucson where supposedly Cricket does have 4G-LTE. The indicator on his Samsung Galaxy s3 only indicates 4G. My understanding is that 4G and 4G-LTE are as different as night and day and that 4G-LTE is orders of magnitude faster than regular 4G. So how will we know when we are getting a 4G-LTE signal and not just 4G. We have the 4G-LTE chip in the phone. Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[Gman9831]

No it's the 4G it's indicating to but there's no set speed for 4G some LTE is faster than others. Different kinds of 4G may be faster than the others like some HSPA faster than LTE vice versa, etc. Also LTE is the only kind of 4G the Cricket S3 can get and if it wasn't you would be able to tell in settings under about phone.

 

[funkylogik]

I think the problem is that some US carriers decided to call HSPA+ "4g" when actually it was 3g. Now that theres true 4g (LTE) they have to call it something new lol (4g LTE)

4g= LTE= 4G LTE
All the same thing :thumbup:

 

[Gman9831]

Well there's the matter of Cricket LTE which averages about 5mbps vs T-mobile HSPA which normally tops 20+mbps. Its one thing to say LTE is better, then its another thing to say its more capable.

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah totally man. 4g can be slower than 3g but it has the potential to be a lot faster. Point is, theyre different technologies and the "4g" branding maybe got used a bit prematurely by some carriers :beer:

 

[EarlyMon]

By all of them, sorta.

4G is LTE Advanced or WiMax 2. No one has it out yet. (Or maybe some small test cells, there may be one in Russia now that I think about it, but don't quote me on that.)

The spec took forever to roll out. Sprint was first with WiMax and they announced that it was 4G expecting it to be ratified.

Others followed suit, including with LTE, and the wars began.

The ITU finally granted dispensation to call the others 4G because they were faster than 3G and the spec was delayed.

4G means 100 Mbps and more.


The blogosphere, that rarely pays attention to or understands tech, started calling that "True 4G" and because the industry is driven by marketing, has now adopted that nonsense term as reality.

Data rates are thrown about as megabits per second, but data doesn't come in a steady stream.

It comes in small, predefined-sized packets.

You can get high Mbps numbers but longer times between packets and the "smaller" Mbps system will actually run faster from your point of view as a user.

4G is a step up.

As will be the actual 4G when it hits.

Meanwhile, it makes sense for phones to be standardized and just say 4G when you're getting that.

None of us would even be able to spell LTE or HSPA+ if it weren't for carriers over-promising and under-delivering, and their marketing departments selling alphabet soup instead of the goods. Lol what else is new?

 

[Gman9831]

I think South Korea has LTE-A which is why they have the S4 with Snapdragon 800 instead of the current ones with 600

 

[EarlyMon]

I think South Korea has LTE-A which is why they have the S4 with Snapdragon 800 instead of the current ones with 600

Ah, thanks, that's correct -

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/samsung-galaxy-s4-lte-a-version-launched-in-south-korea-384365

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/tech/2013/07/133_138436.html

Talking about 150 Mbps there.

Sprint's road map promised LTE-A first in the USA but they stalled and are now getting bought.

I think that T-Mobile may be first in the USA, coming this year, not sure.

 

[Gman9831]

T-Mobile Will Debut LTE-Advanced "Features" In 2013 According To Exec | TmoNewsTmoNews

Maybe the rollout plan is one of the things they'll talk about at that press conference on the 10th. Looking at Sensorly and guesstimating with the population counts on cities with sufficient amount of purple looks like theyre over 65% complete with LTE rollout for the 200M goal for end of 2013 so wouldn't be too early for them to give rollout plans.

*Theyre already rolling out with Rel10 equipment

4G not fast enough? T-Mobile may launch the first 5Grolleyes: Already starting) LTE-Advanced network
T-Mobile may launch the first 5G LTE-Advanced network | Digital Trends

 

[EarlyMon]

5G.

:banghead:

Marketing wins again.

 

[funkylogik]

Ah right. I actually thought the 4g theyve rolled out in UK was "really" 4g and it was just in the states they had "abused" the term.
Man why does marketing have to make things complex? Its like "HD" and "True HD" lol :banghead:

 

[chadgraves]

Im not sure about the Difference in 4G and 4G LTE but i do know when i travel into the Evansville Indiana Area that my S3 shows 4G with LTE in little letters under it.

 

[EarlyMon]

Im not sure about the Difference in 4G and 4G LTE but i do know when i travel into the Evansville Indiana Area that my S3 shows 4G with LTE in little letters under it.

4G is the class or group. LTE is a specific member of the group.

4G LTE is redundant. Harmless but redundant.

If your phone only says LTE, it's said 4G by default.

If your phone only says 4G on an LTE network, it's said LTE by default.

If you're in my house and call me Mr. First Lastname, it's not incorrect - just redundant. Same with 4G LTE.

 

[jhawkkw]

4G is the class or group. LTE is a specific member of the group.

4G LTE is redundant. Harmless but redundant.

If your phone only says LTE, it's said 4G by default.

If your phone only says 4G on an LTE network, it's said LTE by default.

If you're in my house and call me Mr. First Lastname, it's not incorrect - just redundant. Same with 4G LTE.

It's a shame, because my GF works for AT&T mobility and it pains her to refer to their HSPA as 4G. :banghead:

 

[EarlyMon]

It all pains me - I got none!