Cutting Through The Mysteries of 4-G

4-G is much advertised and talked about, but what’s the real story?  The Wall Street Journal has an excellent explanation in yesterday’s issue.  But here are some skinny facts.

1.      4-G is somewhat internationally certified, that is ‘defined’.  Verizon’s version of 4-G most closely adheres to the standards and is called LTE.  AT&T version is similar but different.  AT&T might eventually move to LTE to make it a standard.

2.      How fast is it?  WSJ tests show it varies from 10 to 20 megabits per second.  That compares with only 6.1 megabits from wired internet averages in the USA.  But many of us have wired internet that is faster than 6.1 megabits.   That compares with only 1 megabit speed for crowded free wi-fi in some airports.  In one airport, Mr. Mossberg of WSJ found the 4G speed on his iPad to be 32 megabits – incredible speed.

3.      Does it cost more?  Maybe – if it encourages you to use more megabits of data (HD instead of normal video quality and so on).  That’s too big a topic for the Blog.

4.      Where is it available?  Verizon has more locations, but AT&T has a fall-back speed service called HSPA+ that they call 4-G (but is not as fast as LTE) and it kicks in when there is no real 4-G LTE available.  So, it depends on where you are spending most of your time as to which carrier, is, overall, the fastest. It’s a variable at this point.

5.      Cost?   Similar to the older 3-G if you use the same amount of data, but plans can be costly for big users, $80 a month for 10 GB with Verizon.  But only $20 a month for 1 GB.

6.      What should you do?  Personally, I am with 3-G and for e-mail and most things I do, that’s very fast and cheap.  But I use wi-fi almost all of the time, so I would be less happy with 3-G if that was my primary source of internet.  4-G approaches Wi Fi, and to me, Wi Fi is slower than wired signal from Time Warner Road Runner.

7.      Mi-Fi – is available in 3-G or 4-G.  I have 3-G but will be upgrading it to 4-G.  Mi-Fi takes the cell phone signal and converts it to Wi-Fi for 5 devices or less.  Great for my old PC when I travel or am not where there is a wired internet like Road Runner.

Please leave your comments as to your experience and happiness with 4-G if you have tried it.