Sprint sues AT&T over bogus '5G E' icon to iPhones

[TechyBen]

On 2/10/2019 at 5:30 PM, Jito463 said:

Quick correction, but 4G "LTE" wasn't actually 4G.  It was more like 3.5G.  LTE was the name used for networks that hadn't quite reached 4G, but were a significant enough improvement over 3G.

 

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/4g-vs-lte/

 

IIRC my old dumb (Had some smart features, but was not Android or iOS) phone back in the Day, did 3G, EDGE and HSPA. My Note 3 did ... Oh no, just found out my carrier also lied to me, Note 3 is 3G LTE renamed as "4G". Gah. What [names redacted]s. I'd be happy if they all got sold "Sandwiches" for dinner, that contained something other than bread and butter! I mean, they get to rename their products, why don't we when we turn up to their office!!! 

[suits]

I don't know why anyone is surprised ATT did the exact same thing when 4G was coming out. 

[Commodus]

On 2/10/2019 at 12:30 PM, Jito463 said:

Quick correction, but 4G "LTE" wasn't actually 4G.  It was more like 3.5G.  LTE was the name used for networks that hadn't quite reached 4G, but were a significant enough improvement over 3G.

 

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/4g-vs-lte/

 

That's incorrect.

 

LTE is real 4G.  The faux 4G was HSPA+, or a very fast implementation of 3G.  Think about it: if LTE was fake 4G, that would mean that no one on the planet has ever used real 4G.

[TechyBen]

9 minutes ago, Commodus said:

That's incorrect.

 

LTE is real 4G.  The faux 4G was HSPA+, or a very fast implementation of 3G.  Think about it: if LTE was fake 4G, that would mean that no one on the planet has ever used real 4G.

IIRC Wikipedia states that LTE is not 4G. It's a development of 3G that got called 4G, same as we are getting now with AT&T and 5G(e).

[Commodus]

Just now, TechyBen said:

IIRC Wikipedia states that LTE is not 4G. It's a development of 3G that got called 4G, same as we are getting now with AT&T and 5G(e).

I've been doing some research and LTE Advanced is most definitely 4G.  Regular LTE is considered "3.95G," so it's functionally 4G but you're right in that it didn't technically meet the standard.  The debacle with AT&T and other carriers, however, most definitely revolved around HSPA+.

[TechyBen]

47 minutes ago, Commodus said:

I've been doing some research and LTE Advanced is most definitely 4G.  Regular LTE is considered "3.95G," so it's functionally 4G but you're right in that it didn't technically meet the standard.  The debacle with AT&T and other carriers, however, most definitely revolved around HSPA+.

[edit]

Again, the companies. They lies!

 

(So no, LTE is not 4G, and my Note 3 did LTE, but my providers/OS showed "4G" when connected to LTE.) It again gets blurry on what is what.

Though my older phone did HSDPA+ (IIRC), my Note 3 also did. Gah. I think I give up (some are saying yes in technical lists, some are saying no. I guess even the standards authorities gave up! 

 

PS, so basically the Thunderbolt/vs USB 3.0 thunderbolt debacle, or the usual "we adopt the tech, but don't bother to get validated, so who knows" problems.

[Jito463]

5 hours ago, Commodus said:

That's incorrect.

 

LTE is real 4G.  The faux 4G was HSPA+, or a very fast implementation of 3G.  Think about it: if LTE was fake 4G, that would mean that no one on the planet has ever used real 4G.

5 hours ago, Commodus said:

I've been doing some research and LTE Advanced is most definitely 4G.  Regular LTE is considered "3.95G," so it's functionally 4G but you're right in that it didn't technically meet the standard.  The debacle with AT&T and other carriers, however, most definitely revolved around HSPA+.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LTE_(telecommunication)

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/4g-vs-lte/

https://www.ianswerguy.com/what-is-3g-4g-lte/

The last one is the most interesting, as it seems to clarify that some networks called their HSPA networks '4G', even though it was barely faster than 3G.  While LTE is faster than HSPA, it's still not technically 4G, as it doesn't quite reach the standards set for the 4G network protocol.

Quote

When talking about 4G, things can get a little confusing. Basically, there is 4G and 4G LTE.  Many people consider LTE to be true 4G technology. Generally, if a cellular provider describes a 4G network without mentioning LTE, they are probably talking about a High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) network. The HSPA network is a faster version of the 3G GSM network. While not as fast as an LTE network, it is still faster than a 3G network. Since LTE is still relatively new, the cellular providers haven’t fully built out their LTE networks yet. Be careful when looking at the network coverage maps on the providers’ websites. Some companies claim to have broad nationwide 4G coverage.  They may really be talking about HSPA coverage and not LTE coverage.

Basically, LTE is closer to 4G than HSPA, but it's still not technically 4G according to the standards set for it.

 

https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/4/4G_LTE.html

Based on this link, it says that 4G is supposed to be a minimum of 100 Mbps.

Quote

4G technologies are designed to provide IP-based voice, data and multimedia streaming at speeds of at least 100 Mbit per second and up to as fast as 1 GBit per second.

However, I have 4G LTE on my phone and only get between 20-30 Mbps.  Consistently.  And I have a Samsung S7 Active, so it's not some cheap phone dragging down my connection.  So no, LTE is not true 4G.  There may be some markets where the providers are actually giving 4G speeds, but LTE itself does not have the same strict standards as 4G does.

[TechyBen]

So some 5Ge is gonna be slower than true HSPA? 

[79wjd]

2 hours ago, Jito463 said:

So no, LTE is not true 4G.

The only aspect that isn't 'frequently' met afaik is the >=100 mbps, but just because your connection is less than 100 Mbps doesn't mean that the 4G network isn't technically capable of it (and thus technically 4G) -- say, for example, if there were fewer users/less congestion. 

[Jito463]

6 hours ago, 79wjd said:

The only aspect that isn't 'frequently' met afaik is the >=100 mbps, but just because your connection is less than 100 Mbps doesn't mean that the 4G network isn't technically capable of it (and thus technically 4G) -- say, for example, if there were fewer users/less congestion. 

The point (as I made above) is that LTE permits going well below the limits set for 4G certification, while still being classified as LTE.  Hence, LTE - even if it is capable of providing 4G speeds - isn't actually 4G.  It's just that the companies have used marketing to successfully convince everyone that LTE actually is the same thing as 4G.

[Master Delta Chief]

Ah... The usual misinformation/confusion that another telecommunication provider puts up. Lovely. I think there needs to be a more comprehensive, proper explanation on what exactly 4G and 5G are and what actually is currently implemented.

[Fluxify]

Good. I am glad they are.