Wednesday, December 29, 2010

3G? 4G? 10G? Who Needs Faster Cell Service?

Not that long ago your cell phone was not considered a small mobile computer or smartphone.  It wasn’t that long ago that you could barely get a signal on your cell phone long enough to have a 2 minute conversation.  In the mobile market today, you get to hear ads regarding a 3G network, even 4G, referring to the speed of such networks.  Which company has the fastest and if you care, do you really need your network to be faster?

Your cell phone is getting smaller, smarter and faster ever signal time you upgrade.  The network that your cell phone is on is always getting faster.  But how fast is a 4G network?  Most people might not even know what 3 or 4G means, but if the number is higher it must be worth what you are paying for it.  A 4G network for your smartphone will allow you to view video and data at high speeds, very comparable to your DSL connection at your residence.

Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and other companies are hoping that you want your smartphone to watch video, stream TV or access large amount of data so that you will subscribe to there service.  The bad thing is if you are switching services, you are most likely locked in there for 2 years while you watch other networks upgrade to something better.

The standard 4G network would handle about 100MB per second, according to the ITU, but smartphone networks are showing results at only 1/10th of that speed.  Those companies are Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint.  These providers are quite a way behind what the standard is.  Does this mean your network can only get faster?

Think about what you use your smartphone for every day and think, “do I need faster cell phone service?”, and if not, don’t worry at least you won’t be paying of something that is just going to drain your battery faster than normal. by John Sukowaty

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