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HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA on iPhone 5. 3G speed boost?

MyRomeo

MyRomeo

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 22, 2010
493
86
United Kingdom
Hey,

So with all the hype of the iPhone 5 getting lte 4g capability and my network provider not supporting it just yet I thought I'd see just what exactly the 5 can do that my 4 or even the newer 4s can't.

So a little digging in the tech spec pages of the apple website and I notice two new 3G protocols have been added, both with significant speed boosts over those supported by the 4 and 4S.

The iphone 5 brings HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA to the table, both of which are supported by my provider an with speeds claimed to be up to 40mb! If this is true then who needs 4g!

So with these additions can anyone tell me what 3G speed benefits the 5 is likely to bring? It could be some time before I'm able to enjoy lte type speeds!

Ps, pre ordered 32gb white iP5 straight after they hit the store, delivery for release day :)
 
MyRomeo said:
Hey,

So with all the hype of the iPhone 5 getting lte 4g capability and my network provider not supporting it just yet I thought I'd see just what exactly the 5 can do that my 4 or even the newer 4s can't.

So a little digging in the tech spec pages of the apple website and I notice two new 3G protocols have been added, both with significant speed boosts over those supported by the 4 and 4S.

The iphone 5 brings HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA to the table, both of which are supported by my provider!

So with these additions can anyone tell me what 3G speed benefits the 5 is likely to bring? It could be some time before I'm able to enjoy lte type speeds!

Ps, pre ordered 32gb white iP5 straight after they hit the store, delivery for release day :)
Click to expand...


What I want to know is if the 5 supports 14.4 HSPA+ or 21 HSPA+ ?
 
The iPhone 5 uses the following 3G technolongies, HSPA+ (21.1Mbps), HSPA-DC, and LTE. It does not support any 4G technology such as WiMax, HSPA+ (>100Mbps), or LTE-A.
 
21

1de23bbc-fcff-11e1-97f7-86c00824bcfa_lte.jpg
 
Sweet.
This should mean users of the O2 uk network (and possibly others) can benefit from the dc-hsdpa speeds in cities and the hspa+ speeds elsewhere.

For comparison, dc-hsdpa 3G at up to 42mb... EE launching the uks first 4g LTE network at up to 21mbps... Things could get interesting and I sure am looking forward to the 5 arriving next week!
 
MyRomeo said:
You sure the 4s is hspa+? No mention of it on the apple tech spec site, just hsdpa and hsupa
Click to expand...

Yep, as previous poster mention the 4S is hspa+ 14.4. When I called AT&T to try and get money off last year when it came out they kept mentioning that when I said I was going to jump ship to another carrier.
 
I find all this really confusing! I get around 4.5Mbps on O2 UK with my 3GS. Will I likely get faster speeds with the iPhone 5?
 
I doubt it

I've been geeky enough to run speed tests at various locations and ive never gone faster than 7Mbit on my iPhone 4s.

Includes, London, Birmingham, Manchester etc
 
Last edited:
AT&T's network doesn't even come close to saturating my 4S's capabilities. I doubt DC-HSDPA will make a practical difference for US users. Should be nice for Europeans who don't have access to LTE yet though.
 
kbmb said:
Correct. They do HSPA+ 21 were possible.....so in theory people could see higher speeds on their "4G" network....since the 4S is limited to 14.4....I'm guessing.

-Kevin
Click to expand...

Is DC HSDPB only available in Europe? What markets have the faster HSPA+ up to 21?
 
biosci said:
Is DC HSDPB only available in Europe? What markets have the faster HSPA+ up to 21?
Click to expand...

I don't think anyone in the US uses DC-HSDPA.

As for HSPA+ 21.....I don't think AT&T specifies, but I believe in general when they upgrade a market, they are doing HSPA+ 21.....whereas I think T-Mobile is doing HSPA+ 42.

That's why I'm saying for those AT&T iPhone customers, the chip will now support the higher HSPA+ 21 speeds so even if you don't get LTE....you "may" still get faster 3G (or 4G) speeds.

-Kevin
 
Thanks for clarifying! BTW, is it just me or is it totally ridiculous that ATT calls 3G 4G???


kbmb said:
I don't think anyone in the US uses DC-HSDPA.

As for HSPA+ 21.....I don't think AT&T specifies, but I believe in general when they upgrade a market, they are doing HSPA+ 21.....whereas I think T-Mobile is doing HSPA+ 42.

That's why I'm saying for those AT&T iPhone customers, the chip will now support the higher HSPA+ 21 speeds so even if you don't get LTE....you "may" still get faster 3G (or 4G) speeds.

-Kevin
Click to expand...
 
biosci said:
Thanks for clarifying! BTW, is it just me or is it totally ridiculous that ATT calls 3G 4G???
Click to expand...

AT&T's claim is more realistic than others'. LTE is still a 3G technology with 3G speeds, where as HSPA+ can reach 4G speeds.
 
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