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Let's Get Real: Who CARES About LTE?

Dwalls90

Dwalls90

macrumors 603
Original poster
Feb 5, 2009
5,520
5,266
3G and HSPDA+ is pretty darn fast already, though we know LTE puts it to shame. But let's be realistic, with the average data plan being 3072 megabytes (for a feasible monthly plan, since LTE Unlimited plans are either going to not be grandfathered or become nearly nonexistent for the average user), WHAT is the point exactly of LTE Data? Ok, so I can download at 8 megabytes per second. That means I can drain my 3072 monthly megabyte data plan watching HD Netflix in a matter of 6 minutes. Or I can stream in total about 425 songs for a month, assuming no other data usage at all. Sure, maybe Netflix doesn't use that much data yet necessarily, but higher resolution devices and increases in streaming quality will only draw more data. Assume Netflix uses only 2 megabytes per second instead of 8, that means still a measly 24 minutes a month!

Wouldn't you rather see lower data prices and higher data packages rather than faster network speeds? I don't need to download my 7 megabyte song in one second. I'd rather be able to download or stream 2000 songs and have them each take 5-10 seconds to stream or download. Or be able to watch Netflix for an hour on my network, rather than for a measly few minutes.

EDIT: I think people are missing my point. So if we can have faster download speeds, thus more bandwidth and efficient networks, why not split these speeds to permit higher data limits for lower costs. I'd rather have my LTE speeds "split" so that my 2Gb plan becomes an 8Gb plan for the same monthly cost. I'd rather take 2 megabytes/s for 8Gb than 8 megabytes/s for 2Gb.

Anyone see this?
 
Last edited:
I care. I experienced LTE on my iPad in Chicago 2 months ago and it was very fast. It was considerably faster than the current 3G/4G speeds AT&T gives me. I look forward to having it in my area someday.
 
Um, yea, I care about LTE. I'm not in any danger of exhausting any data allowance, as I don't stream video or audio all day. I just want the sites I visit to load faster.
 
bandwidth has and always will be expensive in the US due to geographic reasons. Anyways, I have no problem with the limits because there's a bunch of free wifi hotspots around NYC.
 
Dwalls90 said:
Wouldn't you rather see lower data prices and higher data packages rather than faster network speeds? I don't need to download my 7 megabyte song in one second. I'd rather be able to download or stream 2000 songs and have them each take 5-10 seconds to stream or download. Or be able to watch Netflix for an hour on my network, rather than for a measly few minutes.
Click to expand...

slower speeds do not relate lower data prices. Lte or not the data you use is the same.
 
Dwalls90 said:
Wouldn't you rather see lower data prices and higher data packages rather than faster network speeds? I don't need to download my 7 megabyte song in one second. I'd rather be able to download or stream 2000 songs and have them each take 5-10 seconds to stream or download. Or be able to watch Netflix for an hour on my network, rather than for a measly few minutes.
Click to expand...

That's called a "perfect world." IE a world that doesn't exist.
 
Many of us don't stream Netflix or Pandora all day
And many of us don't approach our data limits
But when we do something... we want it as quick as possible
 
I care about LTE - and speed. The problem is as you said - they are charging way too much for data. If you look at the family share planes that all the carriers are moving to - it is basically unlimited talk/text - and charge out the wazoo for data. Obviously because everyone is moving to data centric usage.

I have an LTE MiFi from Verizon - from my company. You are correct I have had $400 and $500 monthly bills because I only have 10GB of bandwidth. Then it is $10/GB after that. I had to download a bunch of stuff some months (My company sells software and installs run in the 1GB range) and that is what put me over. For home users I don't see how this is feasible.

Also note that if you read the fine print - it is data in both directions - so every request, every thread, every multi-point download adds up really quickly.

TL ; DR - US Wireless companies still find ways to get every penny from their customers.
 
Couldn't care less about it. I will purchase the new iPhone either way.
If the unlimited plan is not grandfathered and are given the choice I will opt out of LTE.
People who think they need this, need to hire an assistant if they are so important and busy that current speeds are too slow.
 
I'm one of the few that doesnt care whether I have 3G or LTE. 3G is slow sometimes, but when its not slow, it's good and fast enough for me. This doesn't mean I don't want LTE, I just don't care.

This worlds becoming more and more impatient as the years go by :)
 
I've got a Verizon LTE mifi and when my iPhone 4 is connected to the network via wireless vs cell the performance is noticeable. Put me into the "I care" camp.

No plans on a new phone anytime soon - never have been one of the "gotta have the latest & greatest on release day" kind of guys.
 
For Verizon users it makes quite a bit of difference. Verizon 3G is much slower than AT&T's.
 
I want it, I do not want to wait as long for the short clip on the MLB App I am watching to load. I want my apps that use data to load the information faster, and I want web pages to load quicker.

I have 100 Mbps download (usually get between 70-90) at my condo. This spoils me, big time. Then my work phone (sprint) drops down to around 1 Mbps, and my personal phone (AT&T) ranges from 2 to 7 Mbps... I look forward to getting 10-20 Mbps from LTE.
 
iAmYou said:
People who think they need this, need to hire an assistant if they are so important and busy that current speeds are too slow.
Click to expand...

Could equally be said that anyone who needs unlimited data needs to use WiFi or another device and not a phone

I understand people's needs are different and so are the work flows and usage
No need to disparage one group just because it doesn't match your experience
 
I care as well. I never did in the past as I can only expect things to load so fast on a small phone. But now that Verizon has the hotspot capability built in for free, I often travel with the family which as wifi iPads on Touches, and with LTE hotspot for free they can all browse the web faster. Biggest reason I am holding out to buy a new iPhone, because if it doesn't have LTE I will be buying something else that does.
 
I believe the speed is important

But given Verizon's chintzy allotment of data I think they're overselling the benefits of LTE.

LTE networks would have been nice if they came with a nice bump in storage along with speed but simply telling me I should be happy with faster speed on my paltry 2GB of data is telling me to eat a **** sandwich.
 
Using 3G and 4G+ you could drain your whole 3GB allotment in about 70 minutes if you wanted to. Do you do that? No. So why would you start doing that when you get LTE?
 
MacDawg said:
Many of us don't stream Netflix or Pandora all day
And many of us don't approach our data limits
But when we do something... we want it as quick as possible
Click to expand...

This.

And to add to that, LTE can be much more efficient and have a major improvement for latency.

After experiencing it on my iPad, I really can't wait to use it day to day on an iPhone.
 
I still don't understand the "faster LTE will make you use more data" argument.

If I have 5 emails they'll just load faster on LTE but they won't use any more data.

Having LTE won't make me suddenly have 6 e-mails. Having LTE won't make me suddenly decide to watch higher-quality Netflix. (I'm fine with what it looks like now.) Having LTE won't allow me to read articles faster.

I suppose now I'll have time to read 11 articles on the train now instead of 10 but, wow, that's a whole extra page of text. I don't think that's gonna kill me.

Really, I don't see where all this new magical data usage is supposed to be coming from. Mostly, I feel like I'll just be getting tasks done quicker and putting the phone back in my pocket sooner.

What's not to like?
 
MacDawg said:
Could equally be said that anyone who needs unlimited data needs to use WiFi or another device and not a phone

I understand people's needs are different and so are the work flows and usage
No need to disparage one group just because it doesn't match your experience
Click to expand...

Agreed I do not need unlimited. I only keep it because I can't get it back if I dump it. Also I use GPS quite a bit so in that sense I do enjoy the unlimited data

I was not belittling anyone it simply the truth. Hire someone to help, if you are so important and busy boost the economy and create a job.
 
TG1 said:
For Verizon users it makes quite a bit of difference. Verizon 3G is much slower than AT&T's.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I've never used AT&T 3G but using Verizon, my iPhone 3G speed is garbage. It's basically unusable compared to my iPad's lte for basic stuff like web browsing and maps. On the rare occasion that its better to use the phone interface for data I use iPad mobile hotspot instead of the phone's data plan.
 
Dwalls90 said:
3G and HSPDA+ is pretty darn fast already, though we know LTE puts it to shame. But let's be realistic, with the average data plan being 3072 megabytes (for a feasible monthly plan, since LTE Unlimited plans are either going to not be grandfathered or become nearly nonexistent for the average user), WHAT is the point exactly of LTE Data? Ok, so I can download at 8 megabytes per second. That means I can drain my 3072 monthly megabyte data plan watching HD Netflix in a matter of 6 minutes. Or I can stream in total about 425 songs for a month, assuming no other data usage at all. Sure, maybe Netflix doesn't use that much data yet necessarily, but higher resolution devices and increases in streaming quality will only draw more data. Assume Netflix uses only 2 megabytes per second instead of 8, that means still a measly 24 minutes a month!

Wouldn't you rather see lower data prices and higher data packages rather than faster network speeds? I don't need to download my 7 megabyte song in one second. I'd rather be able to download or stream 2000 songs and have them each take 5-10 seconds to stream or download. Or be able to watch Netflix for an hour on my network, rather than for a measly few minutes.
Click to expand...

Your streaming examples fortunately don't actually represent real world use. You will only download from Netflix what you need--i.e. if a movie is 1 GB, that's all you'll download and you can't watch a movie any faster--it'll take 2 hrs to watch that two hour movie. Same goes for audio and most streams top out at a level FAR below LTE capabilities. I stream internet radio throughout the day and have only approached 3 GB in a month once, mostly due to some heavy video streaming that month. Streaming that same internet radio over LTE won't be any different as the stream bitrate will likely be the same.

You're alarm is a bit unfounded. Sure, if you insist on using your cellular data non stop, you'll run into problems but for most of us, real world use won't be significantly impacted.
 
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