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vitriolandangstMay 31, 2011
The technology is fine.
But it's like putting 10 hoses on the same pipe, and just selling people 2" wide hoses.
As long as the telcos charge more for the water that they got for free on the government fiber next year than they did this year, and talk about how much more COULD come down the pipe -- then, why are we blaming the technology?
LTE will be an improvement as long as AT&T invests in its infrastructure and quits trying to multiplex T1 equipment. There is fiber everywhere, and they insist on 30 year-old technology wherever they can shoehorn it in.
audiomodderMay 31, 2011
ya, i'm in the midwest in a smaller-ish city (250k people). the best speed i can get is around 100kbps . didn't bother getting a 4G phone, i can't even get full 3G speeds, so it's kind of a waste of money.
whacklyJun 1, 2011
You in indianapolis? Every time i go through there I swear like steam whistle about how horrible the 3g is. Then I cross into Dayton where the 3g is pretty good. Then on to Cincy where the 3g has good coverage and the wimax, where available, is pretty good. With 4g the bottleneck seems to be the backhaul from the site to the central location. With proper backhaul it's plenty fast. Coverage, on the other hand, is another story entirely. The whole story of ubitquitous, fast, wireless coverage (voice or data) is smoke the industry has been blowing up our ass for as long as they've been in business. But, on the other hand, can anyone name an industry that isn't completely full of s**t? It's not going to change. There won't be a revolution. People just need to stop swallowing ad copy and purchase the service that fills their need. I'm tooling around cincy with my 4g speeds and what am I doing with it? Sending text messages and making phone calls. It's a flipping phone. How fast does the connection need to be?
I started out griping about wireless speeds and ended by dissing complainers for unreasonable expectations. +1 instant hypocrite.
carcass666May 31, 2011
The only thing 4G blows away is the battery on my Evo.
cawpinJun 1, 2011
Your Evo doesn't have any form of 4G.
carcass666Jun 1, 2011
Wrong. WiMAX Is 4G.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_Evo_4G
Regardless, battery life sucks.
ghounds07May 31, 2011
FTA: "If technology with the rate of penetration and the development time of 3G hasn’t yet hit a price point where it’s feasible for providers to offer unlimited data plans that won’t bankrupt either them or the consumer, how do you suppose 4G will fare in that endeavour?"
Verizon posted profits of $11 billion in 2009 and $10 billion in 2010. I think 4G and faster should be more than feasible for providers.
cawpinJun 1, 2011
And it is. My unlimited Verizon data plan is good for 4G too, and it's f**king fast.
asrrin29May 31, 2011
It's only not as great as we think because the billions the government gave to the telecoms for infrastructure upgrades was instead pocketed for their own personal greed, and we the customer have been left with empty promises of "unlimited" data that gets capped at 2GB and price gouging for even thinking about tethering or videos streaming or any other data usage.
addiktionMay 31, 2011
Yeah I think the money would have been better spent for only small businesses. Something to spur more competition instead of just 2 solid providers. Britain has over 20 or 30 bandwidth competitors in many regions. There prices are cheaper than dirt and 5x to 10x faster than ours.
The article I read a couple of days ago was talking about how 20 years ago they were in the same position as us with BT owning a majority of the fiber and copper lines. Since the government intervened and provided incentives for only the smaller guys, the market had boomed as more entrepreneur's could get into the game. The key difference here is BT still is making record profits they say because the pie has grown extremely larger and even though they aren't taking as much of the pie they are still making a killing. Now with all the competition the price of the fiber, etc has actually gone down because the companies selling this kind of stuff have multiple customers ordering it making it a win for everyone really; including the consumer.
What's ironic about this is our same giant internet businesses claim that the same 'model' would not work in the U.S lol. Perhaps because they know damn well they are raping the consumer here and don't want to lose out on profits or share profits. I think Verizon and AT&T was included in that list.
jumangiMay 31, 2011
The 4G plans being advertised are a joke. What's the point of 20Mbps speeds when you get a lousy 2 gigs a month? It's like giving someone a Corvette with a 2 gallon gas tank.
ic4rusJun 1, 2011
Because it's not 4G. The 4G standard says 100Mbps+ to qualify. This, it does not. 3.5G maybe. But still, we all love advertising right?
cawpinJun 1, 2011
Wrong.
And my Verizon 4G is unlimited.
ic4rusJun 1, 2011
Not wrong.
http://www.reghardware.com/2011/05/24/wtf_is_4g/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4G
You sir. Are Wrong.
Your Verizon is f**k-you-dim-witted-customer-our-advertising-fooled-you-haha-you-moron Limited.
cawpinJun 1, 2011
Oh, I'm sorry. You're using the definition of 4G that was announced after the original LTE announcement. 4G means 4th generation cell technology, that's it. The new definition has a bandwidth standard attached, or at least did until last week. It doesn't anymore so LTE is officially 4G.
Also, my Verizon plan IS unlimited to the phone. The only limit Verizon had is on the USB and other modems for PCs, not phones. My plan is still covered under that.
hackiewackieMay 30, 2011
Ah, the promises..
skellenerMay 31, 2011
There is no competition in the wireless ISP world. Two major players is not competition. If they break up AT&T and Verizon into 2 or three companies each, you'd see competition.
ben7337May 31, 2011
How do you do that without breaking up the whole nationwide thing? Weren't the Ma Bell breakup companies broken into regional carriers? Unless they all had roaming agreements that gave full access to the other networks, we would either be looking at a ton of regional only carriers, or at least regional carriers with crappy roaming the way most regional carriers are now as is. I just don't see how splitting them really fosters any competition or causes them to be anything more than a bunch of individual companies that are all tied in as one big company through roaming.
vanhieu2411May 31, 2011
ok
superkendallMay 31, 2011
Come on, ever hear of a company called Sprint? There are three.
vanhieu2411May 31, 2011
ok
itc518May 31, 2011
I was thinking that reading this, I have Sprint and have unlimited data and it is very affordable. A lot of people trash Sprint but I personally like them, my plan is really cheap and I have unlimited everything.
cawpinJun 1, 2011
Sprint doesn't have any form of 4G. WiMax is NOT 4G.
sherridcMay 31, 2011
Prices have very little to do with cost and everything to do with profits, when it comes to mobile data.
worldgate989May 31, 2011
Yea 4G is great when you havent gone over your cap. Galaxy S 4G hardly ever gets anywhere above 3mbps. 2GB of full speed data is bulls**t.
corvetteaustin24May 31, 2011
I don't think you actually know what you're talking about.
worldgate989Jun 1, 2011
Really? You don't think? You don't think being capped and being reduced to sub 56k connection because you went over is bulls**t?
corvetteaustin24Jun 1, 2011
Now I really know you have no clue what you're talking about. If you're on 4G LTE you get more than 3 mbps, otherwise you're not on 4G LTE. If you have a data plan that caps you, they make way more money off of you going over your limit, so it would be dumb of them to limit your speeds after going over your cap.
morkyMay 31, 2011
I've tried real LTE in NYC on a Verizon MiFi card and it was as fast as adavertised: 20-ish mbs. This doesn't answer questions about what will happen when the pipes are flooded with users in a year, nor about data caps, but I can attest that real LTE in New York is faster than my home Roadrunner connection.
cawpinJun 1, 2011
Yep, same here in Phoenix. I get ~12-18 mbps down and 3-10 mbps up.
jassyfengMay 31, 2011
anyway it shows improved performance comparing to 3g, such as the voice quality. but more enhancement needed...
bsanMay 31, 2011
4g has reached the price point of cable internet but how long will the unlimited data plan last : )
themantogotoMay 31, 2011
For phone browsing a good 3g connection is good enough but once you start getting up to HD streaming as a hub etc you kind of need it. Unless you are going to pay the extra $20~ a month to make your phone a hub its really not worth a damn from my experience with the HTC Thunderbolt and Samsung epic 4g in these regards.
ic4rusJun 1, 2011
That's because it's NOT 4G. The 4G standard states that it has to have a sustained data rate of 100Mbps+. None of the offerings in America or any part of the world offer that. But everyone still calls it 4G. Because they're chumps for marketing.
I feel sorry for those unlucky f**kers who are running around saying "look at my Evo 4G". Gullible f**ktards.
blackjackjesterMay 31, 2011
You're forgetting the issue of the cable monopoly. They offer "4G" for a premium price - it doesn't deliver, but you are stuck paying for it anyway. They aren't willing to invest in the infrastructure because you'll pay for the marketing alone. Even though they rake in billions in profits, along with billions in federal funds designed to upgrade infrastructure - there is no oversight, as they just pay those federal funds back to politicians so that nothing changes.
I'm all about being pro corporation, but there needs to be oversight in a big way. It just doesn't exist though.
rblancarteMay 31, 2011
"unparalleled coverage that will make wired Internet obsolete"
Uh, the backbone will always have to be wired, so I don't see that happening.
whitefeather12May 31, 2011
that is what I am hearing about 4G...3G is still better for me!
aadersMay 31, 2011
yeah especially since the human density is not that of Europe or other nations where 4G is working
coramparibusMay 31, 2011
4G + PdaNet = My not having to pay Comcast a f**king dime.
With Sprint I essentially pay $10 (premium fee over regular cell service) for unlimited super high speed internet. No caps. No throttling. No gimmicks. No bulls**t. Also, I watch loads of Netflix streaming and never had any problems. Sprint 4G is easily the fastest internet connection I've ever had. Thank you Dan Hesse!!
MyCollegeMay 31, 2011
4G is awesome at killing my battery life. When it comes to faster internet....not so much.
satori3000May 31, 2011
No offense, but there are better documents on this topic. 4G is great for the telcos, it offers deeper penetration and better connections. Speeds are only increased because you'll get a stronger signal, not because there's anything going on with the signaling that'll make it faster. Essentially with 3G you'd expect the same kind of service, but you'll pay more for 4G. It means that the Telcos can put out fewer towers and lay less infrastructure while providing you with the same service you had before. This is a win for the Telcos, not for the consumers. Don't switch to 4G if your intent is to get better service, only do it if you own stock in your wireless provider.
Closed AccountMay 31, 2011
Why?
thvkMay 31, 2011
Because of 5G.
frankdillMay 31, 2011
4G? If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!
DiggthaLeahMay 31, 2011
I LOVE 4G!! I dont get it
DiggthaLeahMay 31, 2011
I LOVE 4G!! I dont get it
myarmsMay 31, 2011
I don't want or need a phone to browse the internet. 3G sucks for regular phone use and I'd imagine 4G will suck just as much.
jetsdaMay 31, 2011
4G thanks very much.
bosskeyMay 31, 2011
Right now the best thing about 4G is the hawt T-Mobile 4G girl
Berry8xMay 31, 2011
i think 4g is better than 3g
narachinvestMay 31, 2011
Yes, it would appear that 3G and 4G would make the speed much faster; but I don't think they would be a replacement to the DSL. Indeed, I look forward to better speed in the DSL vertical itself; which is not to say that it is not fast enough as it is.
usaakiMay 31, 2011
4G sucks battery
DriveSpecialistMay 31, 2011
Sorry, but i have 4GL and it is better than sliced bread. You kind of sound like a shill for Apple and there iPhone. Just an observation...
cryinlionMay 31, 2011
4G is like ethernet Cat-6
valkyriesMay 31, 2011
lame, still doesnt guarantee decent speeds
ic4rusJun 1, 2011
Because it's not 4G.