AT&T's HSPA+ network is a complete joke...

[sting7k]

Like the iPhone 4S my new Lumia 900 displays a nice "4G" icon next to the signal bars. Except they are meaningless.

The Lumia 900 is getting the exact same speeds as my iPhone 4. WTF? Is AT&T even running an HSPA+ network? What's the point if it's not any faster than their HSDPA7.2 network?

The biggest thing I got from getting the Lumia is that it wasn't the iPhone 4's reception it was AT&T the entire time.

Is anyone getting faster speeds with any phone on the supposed HSPA+ network?

 

[jsntrenkler]

I know in my area they upgraded the tower equipment so that it supports + but they haven't updated the backhaul, so I get the same speeds regardless of device. Just kind of the way it is. I don't imagine that they are going to invest too many resources with HSPA + since LTE is their new baby.

 

[whmurray]

4G, AT&T or Verizon, is a joke.

My AT&T iPhone 4S shows "4G" but the phone does not support it.

I have a 4G Mifi card from Verizon. It hardly ever show 4G and often drops to EDGE.

Last w/e, I decided to download a movie to watch on the plane. I was on Boingo WiFi and it estimated 64 hours. On the plane, on GoGo, the number just kept climbing. When I got to my hotel room near LAX, I tried the hotel's WiFi. Even it was too slow. Decided to try the MiFi. Took only an hour. However, about half way through I got an e-mail telling me that, with that one download, I ha=d blown my monthly allowance.

LTE greatly increases the efficient use of the air space. However, the carriers are not passing any of that increased efficiency to the user. With data capped at 2G or 4G a month, one cannot really do broadband applications. One movie a month is not "broadband." The speed does not help if one cannot afford to use it.

The future of broadband is WiFi. In the NY-NJ-CT tri-state area, the three cable carriers have rolled out "free" WiFi for their subscribers. It is potentially faster than LTE and has no upper limit. Even the LTE carriers understand this. In this market they are rolling out their own WiFi and encouraging their customers to prefer it to LTE..

I will buy a 4G iPhone when Apple tells me to. However, what I want and expect is an iPhone that will roam seamlessly from LTE to WiFi and back again for both voice and data. Of course, one implication of this is that wireless voice will be over digital.

 

[kch50428]

I have a 4G Mifi card from Verizon. It hardly ever show 4G and often drops to EDGE.

Cool that a CDMA network can run EDGE.... must be one heck of a Mifi card

 

[whmurray]

Cool that a CDMA network can run EDGE.... must be one heck of a Mifi card

Hmmm. Maybe I better read the manual. Anyway, there are two lights, one for 4G, one for 3G. Sometimes the 4G light is out and the 3G light is "not" green and the speed is slow.

 

[Garz]

Typical speeds for me on my HSPA+ 4S. I never got these speeds on my regular 4. Yes I believe there is a difference.

 

[kch50428]

Hmmm. Maybe I better read the manual. Anyway, there are two lights, one for 4G, one for 3G. Sometimes the 4G light is out and the 3G light is "not" green and the speed is slow.

That could mean EVDO rev.0 - or, 1X on a CDMA device....

 

[whmurray]

Typical speeds for me on my HSPA+ 4S. I never got these speeds on my regular 4. Yes I believe there is a difference.

]

I do not think that anyone suggests there is no difference, only that it is "joke." Extremely limited coverage and a price per bit that rises so steeply that one cannot use "broadband" applications.

 

[sting7k]

I know in my area they upgraded the tower equipment so that it supports + but they haven't updated the backhaul, so I get the same speeds regardless of device. Just kind of the way it is. I don't imagine that they are going to invest too many resources with HSPA + since LTE is their new baby.

I'm supposed to be in the enhanced backhaul area. Just super lame. Was hoping the Lumia would get better reception at work with the better network and I find it gets the same signal. Oh well; I'll just be cursing AT&T hard until LTE lights up in my area. It's only 20 miles away south and east.

 

[Eileen89]

AT&T HSPA+ is speedy in my area. Tried Verizon but they only give me 1X speeds at home.


Sent from my iPhone 4S using Tapatalk.

 

[dictoresno]

Typical speeds for me on my HSPA+ 4S. I never got these speeds on my regular 4. Yes I believe there is a difference.

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your ping seems way too high. change to a closer server. i got 6.14 Mbps yesterday on my iphone 4 on at&t's 3G network. i usually see between 3-5 Mbps though.

 

[Duvi]

your ping seems way too high. change to a closer server. i got 6.14 Mbps yesterday on my iphone 4 on at&t's 3G network. i usually see between 3-5 Mbps though.

AT&T's ping is usually high, at least for me. It only gets to a very low one when I'm on LTE.

 

[whmurray]

When I see "AT&T 4G" on my iPhone 4S, does that mean I should see HSPA+? Does the 4S support HSPA+? Is it 3.5G? I do not have to wait for LTE? Should I buy an iPhone 5 just to get LTE?

 

[whmurray]

The protocol seems very fast. Connected to my own microcell, special case, I see up to 13.9 MBPS. About the best that I have seen over WiFi on my home system is 18.

Of course, this does not speak to what service level one can expect to see on the street in New York or SF, but it says that the potential is there.

I have a Verizon 4G MiFi card, so I have the capability to do an interesting comparison. However, it requires that I be in a spot where I can see 4G service on both carriers. Needless to say, I am not in such a spot.

 

[PhxBlue]

Like Garz a few posts back, i also am seeing an uptick in speed on my 4S and a much better ping number as well. Give AT&T time to build out everywhere and i think this'll be a norm for hspa+ enabled devices. I'm in Phoenix, AZ.

View attachment 15125

 

[whmurray]

Like Garz a few posts back, i also am seeing an uptick in speed on my 4S and a much better ping number as well. Give AT&T time to build out everywhere and i think this'll be a norm for hspa+ enabled devices. I'm in Phoenix, AZ.

View attachment 15125

Of course, you identify the fundamental problem with AT&T, i.e., they seem to think that they can maximize profit by resisting trafic. One sees it on both sides. They price in such a way as to limit demand, that is the price per bit goes up with usage beyond their arbitrary limit. Said another way, their best data customers pay a higher cost per bit,than the average customer, more than almost any customer except the one that uses onlly one bit.

On the investment side, they build out the most efficient technology as late as they can get away with. I understand New York City or San Francisco, where there is political resistance to new antennas. But what about Vermont? I drove the entire length of the state and the only time I saw 3G was when it leaked over from NH.

Of course, Verizon is not much better. They do deploy the technology but they hide under the AT&T price umbrella. Still they do encourage the users to move to the most efficient technology. For example, when I invested in a 4G MiFi card to replace my 3G , they reduced my price per bit. AT&T wants to charge a premium for the technology gives them the lowest cost per bit.

I can grant that they are getting a little better but they have a sck attitude and business model. They are being dragged screaming and kicking into the 21st Century. Leaders do not dig in their heels.

 

[Garz]

Like Garz a few posts back, i also am seeing an uptick in speed on my 4S and a much better ping number as well. Give AT&T time to build out everywhere and i think this'll be a norm for hspa+ enabled devices. I'm in Phoenix, AZ.

View attachment 15125

Wow nice speeds!

 

[PhxBlue]

Hey thanks. I know im enjoying them!

 

[Jeremy]

Typical speeds for me on my HSPA+ 4S. I never got these speeds on my regular 4. Yes I believe there is a difference.

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There is a huge difference if you are in a well covered area. I usually get 8-9 down on my 4S while my 4 would get 3-4 max. Don't think that is a joke. At least not for me.

 

[west3man]

I went from the original iPad to the new iPad. (That's not confusing at all is it?) The speed difference between the AT&T 3G I was getting on the original iPad and the AT&T HSPA plus that I get where I live is profound. When I traveled to it to a location that had LTE coverage the jump from HSPA plus speeds to LTE was even more profound.

I love hspa+. I wish I had those speeds on my Sprint iPhone 4s. It's embarrassing how slow it can be sometimes. Too often I'm unable to get a test reading or the reading is zero or... the reading is around dial-up speeds.