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UK iPhone 5 - 4G vs HSPA+

M

moredrunkmale

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 22, 2010
68
0
Peoples

Im debating on where to get my iPhone 5 from; I want to future proof with 4G so I have only 2 options T-Mobile or Three.

  • T-Mobile have good deals (with unlimited data), and will have 4G before the end of 2012
  • Three have even better deals, and will have 4G in Sept

My questions would be:

  • Anyone know the sort of speeds (in London) Three offer for HSPA+ (i did find this article; http://tiny.cc/g6wrkw but would be keen to hear real life experiences)
  • What do you expect 4G will offer you that is significantly better than HSPA+
  • What could you do with 4G that you cannot with HSPA+?

________________________________________

UK iPhone 5 tariff comparison matrix: www.tiny.cc/UKiPhone5tariffs
 
moredrunkmale said:
Peoples

Im debating on where to get my iPhone 5 from; I want to future proof with 4G so I have only 2 options T-Mobile or Three.

  • T-Mobile have good deals (with unlimited data), and will have 4G before the end of 2012
  • Three have even better deals, and will have 4G in Sept

My questions would be:

  • Anyone know the sort of speeds (in London) Three offer for HSPA+ (i did find this article; http://tiny.cc/g6wrkw but would be keen to hear real life experiences)
  • What do you expect 4G will offer you that is significantly better than HSPA+
  • What could you do with 4G that you cannot with HSPA+?

________________________________________

UK iPhone 5 tariff comparison matrix: www.tiny.cc/UKiPhone5tariffs
Click to expand...

First of T-mobile are getting in September and Three not until 2013 (which quarter I dont know)

H+ is pretty quick if you get a good connection. I was recently in London and everytime I pulled my phone out it had H+ and was lightning fast.

How much quicker 4g will be for everyday use im not sure. Things like downloading an album on iTunes or an app would be much quicker. Along with streaming youtube videos. And a biggy for Sky sports/movies customers would be the Sky Go App. Where I live when its on 3g its a bit choppy and goes pixelated. When LTE arrives that would be a big bonus.

Data plans are going to max out pretty quick mind

----------

One more thing.

I live in a small valleys town in South Wales called Merthyr Tydfil. I was connected to H+ yesterday and done a speed test and it was 3.5 downspeed.

i was using an Galaxy S3 which has been posted today in order for me to pay for my iPhone 5
 
How do you know if you are getting H+ speeds? (other than realising it's going quicker than normal?

Does it still say 3g at top of the phone or does it change symbol?
 
moredrunkmale said:
  • Anyone know the sort of speeds (in London) Three offer for HSPA+ (i did find this article; http://tiny.cc/g6wrkw but would be keen to hear real life experiences)
  • What do you expect 4G will offer you that is significantly better than HSPA+
  • What could you do with 4G that you cannot with HSPA+?
Click to expand...

Based on my Verizon iPad3 experience (between London and San Fran), you can at least expect a 2x increase in download speed (at the same signal level), you should get 30-40mbps if your signal is excellent. The most significant increase you will get is in the uplink speed, which could increase from 1-2 mbps to 15-20, and shorter ping time. Therefore the overall response time should be better.

----------
cperchard said:
How do you know if you are getting H+ speeds? (other than realising it's going quicker than normal?

Does it still say 3g at top of the phone or does it change symbol?
Click to expand...

In the UK, you can't. In the US, if you have HSPA+, you will get a "4G" logo. and if it is LTE, you will get "4G LTE". This is definitely a bug on iPad 3, I hope they will correct it in the next update.

For now, a speedtest is the only way.
 
Last edited:
cperchard said:
How do you know if you are getting H+ speeds? (other than realising it's going quicker than normal?

Does it still say 3g at top of the phone or does it change symbol?
Click to expand...

I cant say for sue obviously but on other devices it says h+/LTE

Saying that its bound to as on all iPhones its got the circle for 2g and says 3g so would definately say H+ or LTE
 
Thanks for responses guys.

Another factor i the equation is tethering.

Three allow tethering, T-Mobile do not.

Although it's hard to know if Three will continue to offer tethering when they launch 4G, its fairly unlikely IMO.

Here is my view so far:

T:Mobile +ives:
  • Get 4G within 4 weeks.
  • Good coverage

T:Mobile -ives:
  • No tethering

Three +ives:
  • HSPA+ is still pretty quick.
  • Tethering allowed
  • Cheaper than Orange (even more so with Cashback)

Three -ives:
  • Get 4G around Sept 2013
  • Coverage can be poor (apparently)


____________________________________________

UK iPhone 5 tariff comparison matrix: www.tiny.cc/UKiPhone5tariffs
 
dchao said:
In the UK, you can't. In the US, if you have HSPA+, you will get a "4G" logo. and if it is LTE, you will get "4G LTE". This is definitely a bug on iPad 3, I hope they will correct it in the next update.

For now, a speedtest is the only way.
Click to expand...

It's not a bug. AT&T wanted Apple to do this because they want to market 4G without actually rolling out 4G all too quickly. And for some reason Apple caved.
 
I think the tariffs are practically identical but you also have Orange as a choice, of course, not just T-Mobile. Whether you buy on either network you'll have to migrate to an EE tariff in order to get LTE, and we don't know what the EE tariffs are going to be like yet.

Three are generally considered the best network for data in the UK, provided that you have good coverage in the areas you live/work. Aside from their core network giving (generally) lower latency and higher peak speeds than the competition, their data usage policies are also typically more liberal with things like unlimited consumption and tethering more widely available and at more reasonable prices.

Current negotiations between the networks, Ofcom, and the government mean that Three may well get to deploy LTE a little earlier than planned. In the grand scheme of things I don't think you'll really miss out on much by going with Three. I certainly think they're the better network.
 
moredrunkmale said:
Thanks for responses guys.

Another factor i the equation is tethering.

Three allow tethering, T-Mobile do not.

Although it's hard to know if Three will continue to offer tethering when they launch 4G, its fairly unlikely IMO.

Here is my view so far:

T:Mobile +ives:
  • Get 4G within 4 weeks.
  • Good coverage

T:Mobile -ives:
  • No tethering

Three +ives:
  • HSPA+ is still pretty quick.
  • Tethering allowed
  • Cheaper than Orange (even more so with Cashback)

Three -ives:
  • Get 4G around Sept 2013
  • Coverage can be poor (apparently)


____________________________________________

UK iPhone 5 tariff comparison matrix: www.tiny.cc/UKiPhone5tariffs
Click to expand...


T-mobile do allow tethering. You just need to phone them and activate it on your account. Then when you tether you do not get that t-mob page.

As for LTE tariffs I don't know yet. I live by a T-mobile call centre where half of my town work so will try and get info when i can and post it here. I know they had a conference the other day with regards to EE and in the coming months both T-mob and Orange will no longer exist as its own entity. EE will be displayed on your phones anytime if your with either of these networks.
 
antdawe said:
T-mobile do allow tethering. You just need to phone them and activate it on your account. Then when you tether you do not get that t-mob page.

As for LTE tariffs I don't know yet. I live by a T-mobile call centre where half of my town work so will try and get info when i can and post it here. I know they had a conference the other day with regards to EE and in the coming months both T-mob and Orange will no longer exist as its own entity. EE will be displayed on your phones anytime if your with either of these networks.
Click to expand...

http://www.techradar.com/news/phone...ethering-for-new-full-monty-customers-1091660
 
Interesting.

I just called T-Mobile and spoke to sales dept. They said the full monty tariff does come with tethering, as in the tariff offers it, however T-Mobile will not provide any "support" for setting it up.

I take this to mean no technical support.

Can anyone else confirm?
 
moredrunkmale said:
Interesting.

I just called T-Mobile and spoke to sales dept. They said the full monty tariff does come with tethering, as in the tariff offers it, however T-Mobile will not provide any "support" for setting it up.

I take this to mean no technical support.

Can anyone else confirm?
Click to expand...

If you can get a copy of the contract, read it.
 
moredrunkmale said:
Interesting.

I just called T-Mobile and spoke to sales dept. They said the full monty tariff does come with tethering, as in the tariff offers it, however T-Mobile will not provide any "support" for setting it up.

I take this to mean no technical support.

Can anyone else confirm?
Click to expand...

I think all tarriffs since the 4S was released support tethering from all networks.
 
TheOriginalKi said:
That's far from true. Most require you to either pay extra for tethering or just simply say you can't use it.
Click to expand...

Are you sure? Im pretty sure all NEW tarriffs since the 4S was released support tethering.

At least, the O2 tarriff i was on with my 4S originally, and the new Three 4S tarriff im on both allow tethering for no additional cost.

Then again, im not on the cheapest sim only etc tarriff. These are contract tarriffs.
 
moredrunkmale said:
From the Full Monty terms and conditions:

https://www.t-mobile.co.uk/shop/terms-and-conditions/pay-monthly/#the-full-monty

Please note, internet on your phone excludes using your phone as a modem (tethering) and network traffic controls apply.

So it seems the sales woman on the phone was lying
Click to expand...

Yep

----------
PortableLover said:
While this thread is here, I'd like to ask, does Three throttle your data after you've used a certain amount?
Click to expand...

Yes, after 10000GB
 
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