HSPA+ Data speeds vs LTE? - Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Hello,
I am considering switching from my lumia 900 to the GNex HSPA+ on ATT. The Lumia 900 has LTE while the GNex using HSPA+ 21. I understand that i wont be getting anywhere near LTE speeds, but what speeds are yall seeing? I am in Dallas and have pretty good coverage using either signals.

jason.hamilton said:
Hello,
I am considering switching from my lumia 900 to the GNex HSPA+ on ATT. The Lumia 900 has LTE while the GNex using HSPA+ 21. I understand that i wont be getting anywhere near LTE speeds, but what speeds are yall seeing? I am in Dallas and have pretty good coverage using either signals.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from a Skyrocket on AT&T and was getting about 30mb/s down and 10mb/s up while on LTE.
My Nexus gets around 3 to 4 mb/s down and ~1 mb/s up on HSPA+.
The strange thing is my wife and son use normal GSII's and they can get 7 mb/s download speeds consistently using the same 'phone' APN as I am. I don't think the Nexus has as good a radio as the GSII does.

Is it a show stopper for you? I mean honestly how often do you see slowness due to download speeds?

I'm glad LTE is here, but for me personally, I can stream google nav with pandora radio at good quality, so HSPA+ is fine for me.
As soon as I stop my car, Im almost always in Wifi coverage

Not a show stopper for me. HSPA+ is just fine for whatever I want to do.

Related

Is it normal/acceptable for "4g" speeds to be less than 2 Mb?

About a month ago my area upgraded from EDGE to HSPA+. I finally decided to play with the speedtest.net app yesterday and I was only managing download speeds of maybe 1 or 2Mb, on a good test. This is enough for casual use, I suppose, but most people (on this board at least) seem to be getting much better speeds than that. A nearby area where the State University resides also produces similar speeds on my GNex and my previous phone (AT&T Galaxy S2).
Is this normal or do I need to change something on my phone?
blackplague1347 said:
About a month ago my area upgraded from EDGE to HSPA+. I finally decided to play with the speedtest.net app yesterday and I was only managing download speeds of maybe 1 or 2Mb, on a good test. This is enough for casual use, I suppose, but most people (on this board at least) seem to be getting much better speeds than that. A nearby area where the State University resides also produces similar speeds on my GNex and my previous phone (AT&T Galaxy S2).
Is this normal or do I need to change something on my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1-3mbps is pretty normal for me indoors with 2-3 bars of signal, with 4-5 or so outdoors with better signal. I can only pull down those crazy numbers of 10+ with HSPA+ late at night when the towers aren't as busy. I'm in a small town, but we've had HSPA+ for a good year or more now (heck, I was on Verizon when it was switched on, so I don't know exactly how long...). Maybe your network is still getting upgraded / installed and the process isn't done yet?
I'm on the T-mobile $30 plan, by the way. I've heard AT&T's HSPA+ can be significantly slower in some places, so that may be part of it?
if they just rolled out the towers a month ago and upgraded to HSPA+, I'm not at all surprised by those speeds.
Att's hspa is notoriously slow compared to Tmo. I see between 6 and 18 mbps on my Tmo phones and my Att phones max out at around 6, averaging around 3.
For an area that just now got hspa turned on when the rest of the country is getting LTE, those speeds you are describing seem perfectly normal.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
I'm on T-Mobile and 1-2Mb is normal for me with 5 bars. If I'm extremely lucky I sometimes see 3Mb.
T-Mobile's "4G" in Phoenix is exactly the same speed as my 3G Vibrant.
Ravynmagi said:
I'm on T-Mobile and 1-2Mb is normal for me with 5 bars. If I'm extremely lucky I sometimes see 3Mb.
T-Mobile's "4G" in Phoenix is exactly the same speed as my 3G Vibrant.
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True, location also plays a big role.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
I would be happy to get 6Mb down with AT&T in Austin. Max is about 3.1Mbps which I think is crap since we know it is capable of more. Interestingly, AT&T LTE in the same areas rock!
TJBunch1228 said:
Att's hspa is notoriously slow compared to Tmo. I see between 6 and 18 mbps on my Tmo phones and my Att phones max out at around 6, averaging around 3.
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Click to collapse
Well that's also because T-Mobile has HSPA+ 42mbps deployed, and devices that can make use of it. Most AT&T devices are at best 21mbps capable, and not all of their towers are.
Depends on signal strength. On VZW LTE I can pull 20+ mbps in Seattle, but only 2-5 mbps in outlying areas.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Winesnob said:
Depends on signal strength. On VZW LTE I can pull 20+ mbps in Seattle, but only 2-5 mbps in outlying areas.
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Click to collapse
Well, we're talking about AT&T HSPA+ in here so...
martonikaj said:
Well, we're talking about AT&T HSPA+ in here so...
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Click to collapse
...so the thread title asked about 4g speeds. 4g = HSPA+ or LTE.
Winesnob said:
...so the thread title asked about 4g speeds. 4g = HSPA+ or LTE.
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Click to collapse
"4g" in quotes, and OP specifically is talking about AT&T.
I'll have to run speedtest some more when I'm out of town and see what kind of numbers I can get. I would be interested to see what speeds a 3G phone gets in the same region as my "4G" Gnex (HSPA+ via AT&T, not LTE via Verizon).

[Q] Throttled 4G Speeds

Anyone else having insanely slow 4G speeds on their Android devices after the iPhone 5 release? I did a side-by-side speedtest on the same server, 35mbps on the iPhone 5 and 5mpbs on the Galaxy Nexus.
I do believe the iphone 5 is lte and the galaxy nexus is not, just hsdpa. The lte network also has fewer phones currently due to being new and only in few markets.
hamjunk said:
I do believe the iphone 5 is lte and the galaxy nexus is not, just hsdpa. The lte network also has fewer phones currently due to being new and only in few markets.
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Click to collapse
The 2 cdma (sprint and verizon) variants of the galaxy nexus in the USA are lte devices.
@op, no. On verizon results are right on par with previous speed results with lte on the nexus.
good day.
rosenbaa29 said:
Anyone else having insanely slow 4G speeds on their Android devices after the iPhone 5 release? I did a side-by-side speedtest on the same server, 35mbps on the iPhone 5 and 5mpbs on the Galaxy Nexus.
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Click to collapse
If LTE was being affected, it would slow down speeds for both phones assuming they're in the same place on the same network (and tower). The iPhone doesn't have its own separate network...
One phone getting 35mbps and another 5mbps is a fluke. They should both be roughly the same assuming they have the same signal strength.
martonikaj said:
One phone getting 35mbps and another 5mbps is a fluke. They should both be roughly the same assuming they have the same signal strength.
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Click to collapse
and assuming you used the same location (as in the server location) for the speed test.
Yep
verzion bc it has many tower... if there is no tower close by then you will not get 4g or 3g u will be on edge..
how i know.. my co-worker called up sprint to see whats wrong with his samsung galaxy s3
Is it possible the account for the nexus is in the 5% that gets throttled on high traffic towers?

Difference between 4G and LTE?

LTE and 4G are the same? because i know that glide doesnt has lte, but when i use the mobile data, i see the 4G icon. i always have that question. thanks
4g is hsdpa+, which is slightly above 3g, but not quite 4g. It still is fast enough
Sent from my SGH-I927 using xda app-developers app
Laugher19 said:
4g is hsdpa+, which is slightly above 3g, but not quite 4g. It still is fast enough
Sent from my SGH-I927 using xda app-developers app
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Then , is better than 3.5G ? (here we know that like 3g and 3.5g). Thanks, for your help thats clear me that question (sorry for my english )
It pretty much is 3.5g.
Sent from my SGH-I927 using xda app-developers app
To give you an idea, LTE can "theoretically" max at 300 mbps (mbps = mega bits per second -- most carriers/ISP's provide this), which would translate to 37.5 megabytes/sec. Do you get that now? Very unlikely. Friends who have LTE are only getting around 24 mbps, which is still really fast.
HSPA+, which is what AT&T's "4G" (not 4G LTE -- it's the 3.5G) as well as T-Mobile's has a peak of about 42 mbps -- and I've seen folks here (Houston) get really close to that in speed -- which translates to a little over 5 megabytes/sec.
T-Mo and AT&T are actively working to get more and more LTE towers and service created (they have HSPA+). T-Mo hasn't rolled theirs out at all, except I think for testing in a few select, small markets, if I remember correctly. AT&T has service in LTE already established.
LTE is the way of the future at the moment. Kind of like the HD-DVD vs bluray debacle years ago -- LTE won out over another 4G technology, WiMax, which was on several earlier phones on Sprint. Sprint finally conceded it lost and start building out an LTE network to replace their WiMax one.
Hopefully, that's a NICE BIG chunk of knowledge that you can partially digest.
terinfire said:
To give you an idea, LTE can "theoretically" max at 300 mbps (mbps = mega bits per second -- most carriers/ISP's provide this), which would translate to 37.5 megabytes/sec. Do you get that now? Very unlikely. Friends who have LTE are only getting around 24 mbps, which is still really fast.
HSPA+, which is what AT&T's "4G" (not 4G LTE -- it's the 3.5G) as well as T-Mobile's has a peak of about 42 mbps -- and I've seen folks here (Houston) get really close to that in speed -- which translates to a little over 5 megabytes/sec.
T-Mo and AT&T are actively working to get more and more LTE towers and service created (they have HSPA+). T-Mo hasn't rolled theirs out at all, except I think for testing in a few select, small markets, if I remember correctly. AT&T has service in LTE already established.
LTE is the way of the future at the moment. Kind of like the HD-DVD vs bluray debacle years ago -- LTE won out over another 4G technology, WiMax, which was on several earlier phones on Sprint. Sprint finally conceded it lost and start building out an LTE network to replace their WiMax one.
Hopefully, that's a NICE BIG chunk of knowledge that you can partially digest.
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Click to collapse
Ya it's a huge difference, put it like this;
We get 3mbps and LTE gets 30mbps. Of course I am over simplifying things but LTE is about 10X faster then 3G which is what we have.
dudejb said:
Ya it's a huge difference, put it like this;
We get 3mbps and LTE gets 30mbps. Of course I am over simplifying things but LTE is about 10X faster then 3G which is what we have.
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Depends on where they're deployed, though. At the moment, in my mind, though, HSPA+ is fast enough. LTE is nice and important for future-proofing, but I don't see a need for it for another... probably 3-5 years. Keep in mind, most people's home internet is like 3-12 mbps on average. HSPA+ current results for my city are WELL above this for all providers.
You realize that Cappy Glide can get HSPA+ which goes up to 42mbps -- you could theoretically download at > 5 megabytes/sec under ideal circumstances... I currently pull around 1-2 megabytes/sec... Why would you ever need more on this current gen -- especially with data-capping?
Just saying I have a friend on the same cellular provider as me and he has that new Windows Phone from Nokia on LTE and me with the glide. We did a speed test and I got around 2.5mbps and he got 25.mbps. I agree for everyday stuff 2.5 mbps is enough, but I just have to say I was drooling when I saw the speed he was getting on Rogers which is whoI have.
I have 2 years left on my Contract and I am happy with my Glide but for sure in 2 years I will make sure my next phone is a LTE device. I have a 6Gigs download cap so I am not to worried about caps after all it is a cell phone and 6 gigs should be plenty.
Fair enough -- seems that Rogers is much different as a carrier than the ones here in the US. I've had friends on HSPA+ on T-Mobile at like 30ish mbps and friends on LTE on Verizon at 35 mbps. It wasn't a super big difference. But until you hit double-digits on the speed, I can totally understand the drool you emit and why.
thanks, thats clear e a lot i always think that 4G was behind of lte but better than 3.5G, because my glide is the unique phone that i see with 4G icon (all the phones here only has 3G icon or H+ and the modems wcdma or Hsdpa) i am not in USA or Canada
I wouldnt say that 4G is HSDPA+ ..
Let's get back to begining ...
1. GSM (2G) 9.6 kbps,
2. GPRS (2G) 40 kbps
3. EDGE (2G) 120 kbps
4. WCDMA (3G) = UMTS and HSDPA 14Mbps
5. HSPA and HSUPA (3.5G) = HSPA+ 28Mbps (unreal speeds / market speeds)
6. DC-HSDPA (4G) 42Mbps and up (unreal speeds / market speeds)
7. OFDMA (LTE/WiMAX) 100Mbps (unreal speeds / market speeds)
Here is reality : http://www.zdnet.com/au/speed-test-how-fast-is-4g-really-7000007995/
iEthos said:
I wouldnt say that 4G is HSDPA+ ..
Let's get back to begining ...
1. GSM (2G) 9.6 kbps,
2. GPRS (2G) 40 kbps
3. EDGE (2G) 120 kbps
4. WCDMA (3G) = UMTS and HSDPA 14Mbps
5. HSPA and HSUPA (3.5G) = HSPA+ 28Mbps (unreal speeds / market speeds)
6. DC-HSDPA (4G) 42Mbps and up (unreal speeds / market speeds)
7. OFDMA (LTE/WiMAX) 100Mbps (unreal speeds / market speeds)
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Click to collapse
That table is misleading. Most cablecos have rolled out DOCSIS3, capable of 50Mbps at the low end, yet you'd be lucky if there's a 20Mbps package available at all. VDSL is a similar story. Realistically, you're gonna see one, maybe two Mbps real-world, even on LTE. When you're talking about actual bandwidth delivered to your device, you won't see ANY improvement upgrading past UMTS. In the US market, all the benefits of the newer technologies are exclusively on the side of the carriers -- you will see nothing.
Stay on WiFi, folks.
roothorick said:
That table is misleading. Most cablecos have rolled out DOCSIS3, capable of 50Mbps at the low end, yet you'd be lucky if there's a 20Mbps package available at all. VDSL is a similar story. Realistically, you're gonna see one, maybe two Mbps real-world, even on LTE. When you're talking about actual bandwidth delivered to your device, you won't see ANY improvement upgrading past UMTS. In the US market, all the benefits of the newer technologies are exclusively on the side of the carriers -- you will see nothing.
Stay on WiFi, folks.
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Click to collapse
Man I don't know what u talking your words are misleading.. sorry
roothorick said:
That table is misleading. Most cablecos have rolled out DOCSIS3, capable of 50Mbps at the low end, yet you'd be lucky if there's a 20Mbps package available at all. VDSL is a similar story. Realistically, you're gonna see one, maybe two Mbps real-world, even on LTE. When you're talking about actual bandwidth delivered to your device, you won't see ANY improvement upgrading past UMTS. In the US market, all the benefits of the newer technologies are exclusively on the side of the carriers -- you will see nothing.
Stay on WiFi, folks.
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Click to collapse
Lololololololol now that I've laughed enough. Play an online game on UMTS and on LTE or download a file or game or video the come talk to me. LTE is not just for the benefits of the carriers.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
enik_fox said:
Lololololololol now that I've laughed enough. Play an online game on UMTS and on LTE or download a file or game or video the come talk to me. LTE is not just for the benefits of the carriers.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
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OK u are the maaan
The Captivate Glide on AT&T in the US is capable of a rated 21Mbps maximum speed...I have one on a NET10/AT&T SIM in Los Angeles and have so far seen up to 11Mbps in speed tests, but it can also be much slower, dependent on the traffic on the network where I happen to be - the phone's indicator nearly always says "4G" even if my download speeds are less than 500k. If you have a Samsung Relay on T-Mobile (the closest phone to the Captivate Glide design-wise) it has a max rated speed of 42Mbps, and the T-Mobile network usually has faster average data speeds regardless, as long as you're on 4G, but their network is smaller. At this point I'm paying $46 a month on NET10/AT&T versus $55 a month on Page Plus for a 3G phone that maxes at 2.5Mbps (usually around 1200k) on Verizon's network, both with 2GB of data (I use WiFi as much as possible). For my needs I'm willing to spend a lot less with a MVNO prepaid network and live with the HSPA+, rather than paying $100 a month and up for LTE on Verizon, AT&T or Sprint - LTE is also a big battery hog. The fact I was able to get a slightly used Glide for around $100 helped as well, rather than paying hundreds more for an LTE phone and/or being locked into an expensive contract.
TVCCS said:
The Captivate Glide on AT&T in the US is capable of a rated 21Mbps maximum speed...I have one on a NET10/AT&T SIM in Los Angeles and have so far seen up to 11Mbps in speed tests, but it can also be much slower, dependent on the traffic on the network where I happen to be - the phone's indicator nearly always says "4G" even if my download speeds are less than 500k. If you have a Samsung Relay on T-Mobile (the closest phone to the Captivate Glide design-wise) it has a max rated speed of 42Mbps, and the T-Mobile network usually has faster average data speeds regardless, as long as you're on 4G, but their network is smaller. At this point I'm paying $46 a month on NET10/AT&T versus $55 a month on Page Plus for a 3G phone that maxes at 2.5Mbps (usually around 1200k) on Verizon's network, both with 2GB of data (I use WiFi as much as possible). For my needs I'm willing to spend a lot less with a MVNO prepaid network and live with the HSPA+, rather than paying $100 a month and up for LTE on Verizon, AT&T or Sprint - LTE is also a big battery hog. The fact I was able to get a slightly used Glide for around $100 helped as well, rather than paying hundreds more for an LTE phone and/or being locked into an expensive contract.
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UUf i would never pay so much ..
I have one contract for 12 months (sim only) so am locked but am paying £15 a month and I have unlimited internet and unlim. SMS , then 600 minutes that my girlfriend uses .. (she never use all 600 minutes .. she is texting more ..)
And I had Giff Gaff previously .. it is based on O2 but it is cheaper and it is sim only . I used to pay £10 a month for unlimited internet unlim. texts and 250 minutes .. BUT they increased package to £12 so I started NOT liking it cos speed is not as fast as on 3 network
So I have decided to go with 3 network (same as my girlfriend) but it is SIM only pay as u go so it is 15 pounds a month no contract am not locked and I have same package as girlfriend but NOT 600 minutes but 300 minutes of call .. and that is way enough for me .. internet and SMS unlimited that is my priority..

H+ or 3G what is the difference?

every time i browse the net on my Note 2 I'm getting "H+" on the status bar in my area while at the same time whenever i call someone i get 3G at the same place, so what is the difference between them? which is better? sorry if it is a noob quastion
H+ is for HSDPA+, which delivers much higher speeds than normal 3G. Technically it is an upgraded 3G network. so if you have H+ then your network is faster than if you get only 3G. and H+ is used only for data download. so you will not see it in normal voice calls.
Based on your network, Note II can handle H+ speeds up to 42Mbps. 3G is only 384kbps.
tmrbaset said:
H+ is for HSDPA+, which delivers much higher speeds than normal 3G. Technically it is an upgraded 3G network. so if you have H+ then your network is faster than if you get only 3G. and H+ is used only for data download. so you will not see it in normal voice calls.
Based on your network, Note II can handle H+ speeds up to 42Mbps. 3G is only 384kbps.
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Click to collapse
thanks alot man for the explanation i thought it is something weaker than 3g, i appreciate your answer :good:
Here for the diff speeds
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=639115
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
Capable of 42Mbps!? I can't imagine anyone ever gets anywhere near that. I only get 35Mbps on my home computer with cable internet.
With H+ in my area, I generally get somewhere around 3Mbps maybe a little higher.
What is the max speed of LTE supposed to be?
Now that I know my phone is capable of 42Mbps (which is faster then my home connection), I really have no problem with not having an LTE phone. Especially since the max speed is probably as probable as seeing a unicorn.
Not to put a damper on it, but H+ doesnt mean DCHSPA as my N7100 shows that symbol and its not DCHSPA capable.
kebabs said:
Not to put a damper on it, but H+ doesnt mean DCHSPA as my N7100 shows that symbol and its not DCHSPA capable.
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Click to collapse
That's because H+ means HSPA+. Unless that's what DCHSPA is, but I've never heard it called that before. Even then, are you sure about that? HSPA+ is listed in the specs for this phone.
HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL
H+ is faster than 3g without a doubt
DCHSDPA is known as dual channel ie three uk are dishing it out but us n7100 owners nothing to get excited over its not supported..
Mainly only lte models have dchsdpa only a couple of non lte devices have it
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
E_Goldstein said:
HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL
H+ is faster than 3g without a doubt
DCHSDPA is known as dual channel ie three uk are dishing it out but us n7100 owners nothing to get excited over its not supported..
Mainly only lte models have dchsdpa only a couple of non lte devices have it
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
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Well, that sort of clears it up. (Although I don't fully get it, I sorta do) Not like it really matters though. No one is going to get anywhere close to what those technologies are capable of anyways. If they ever do, we will probably all be on our next device anyways(probably more like a few devices down the road).

[Q] HSPA+ speed goes down after LTE launch

Dont know If anyone noticed this. I live in wash dc and 3 days ago LTE went live here. The thing is this though: I have a galaxy s3 with tmobile which supports hspa+ 42MB but not LTE and before the greatest LTE lauch here I was having like 21MB/s down and 3MB/s up on HSPA+ network. However after the LTE lauch my speeds on HSPA+ network went way down to constant 8MB/s down and 2.2MB/s up no matter what time u do the test no matter what server u use. I just hope this is not just another Tmobile trick to force me to update to an LTE ready device to be able to access higher speeds after I just got the not LTE ready galaxy s3. Can anyone in an LTE area confirm this?
My speeds are a little slower
And I'm getting more 3g and less HSPA
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
It all depends on spectrum licenses in your area. Where T-Mobile has to refarm their spectrum for LTE it will cut HSPA down to 21mbps.
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Well now that sucks. So my speeds go down when they turn on LTE? How lovely...
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app
I think the problem is stemming from excess bandwidth consumption by those markets that have LTE and people with Note IIs ready to use it. The backhaul needs to be increased. Just like what happened when they launched UMTS... Give it some time. Or go get an LTE phone.
I live in KC and have not experienced any drop. My market and towers were confirmed by tmo to be running both.
The issue really is how good your PCS (1900) coverage is... The refarming will slide the AWS HSPA to 1900 to make room for LTE. This will cause problems in markets that don't have full PCS licenses or decent PCS coverage. And obviously indoor speeds will be slower when on PCS due to building penetration.
I also remember reading that part of the reason T-Mobile's HSPA+ was so fast was the fact that it uses one frequency for upload and the other for download, whereas PCS just uses one frequency for both. So I guess we will be as average as the rest now?
No data rate change here
jcbofkc said:
I live in KC and have not experienced any drop. My market and towers were confirmed by tmo to be running both.
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Same for LV. I have not noticed any major drop in data speed.

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