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DSC-HSDPA vs LTE

The Game 161

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Original poster
Dec 15, 2010
31,603
20,847
UK
Is it true both O2 and Vodafone will both be rolling Out DSC-HSDPA by the end of this year which will basically be the same as having 4G? And how does DSC-HSDPA work exactly? If you buy the 5 now would it just upgrade to a faster connection without you having to do anything?
 
The Game 161 said:
Is it true both O2 and Vodafone will both be rolling Out DSC-HSDPA by the end of this year which will basically be the same as having 4G? And how does DSC-HSDPA work exactly? If you buy the 5 now would it just upgrade to a faster connection without you having to do anything?
Click to expand...

DC-HSDPA is not as fast as LTE 4G at both of their maximum potential speed. LTE may not be that fast on EE but as it advances, speed should increase. You won't need to do anything for DC-HSDPA, once the network has been revised, a small incremental network update is pushed to your phone, so you can use it.

On comparison, LTE can be 54% faster then DC-HSDPA at it's max capable speed.
 
The Game 161 said:
Is it true both O2 and Vodafone will both be rolling Out DSC-HSDPA by the end of this year which will basically be the same as having 4G? And how does DSC-HSDPA work exactly? If you buy the 5 now would it just upgrade to a faster connection without you having to do anything?
Click to expand...

Add Three to the list.

And yes, it's autonomous. Depending on what you class as 4G, DC-HSDPA could be 3G+ or 4G. I see it as faster 3G.
 
ct2k7 said:
Add Three to the list.

And yes, it's autonomous. Depending on what you class as 4G, DC-HSDPA could be 3G+ or 4G. I see it as faster 3G.
Click to expand...

I think AT&T classes it as 4G in america under the iPhone. But people say it's just 3.75G. haha.. all these numbers. Three will be getting DC-HSDPA and LTE next year as well. They have bandwidth on the new EE networks being rolled out.
 
I'm traveling between the US and UK with my VZW iPad. From my experience the downlink on HSPA+ is roughly half of on the LTE. But the uplink speed is really impressive on LTE, you can reach 5-10mbps easily, only 1-2 mbps on HSPA+.
 
Lunfai said:
I think AT&T classes it as 4G in america under the iPhone. But people say it's just 3.75G. haha.. all these numbers. Three will be getting DC-HSDPA and LTE next year as well. They have bandwidth on the new EE networks being rolled out.
Click to expand...

ugh, let's add more to the soup :/

I'm sure Three was mean to roll out DC-HSPA this year?
 
matttye said:
Pretty much. Providers always advertise "up to" speeds for that very reason.

"up to 100mbps" sounds better than "around 40mbps if you're lucky" :p
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To be honest, this is pretty poor:


4G five times faster than 3G: based on 1.5 Mbps UK average speed for 3G (source: most recent Ofcom speed survey) and 8-12 Mbps average speed for 4GEE (source: EE data).
 
ct2k7 said:
ugh, let's add more to the soup :/

I'm sure Three was mean to roll out DC-HSPA this year?
Click to expand...

Oh xD I mean't that they're rolling LTE out next year, not sure about DC-HSPA. I know they're already HSPA + which is like 3.625555555555555.....G LOL. I know HSPA+ is capable of 11 Mbps.

ct2k7 said:
To be honest, this is pretty poor:
4G five times faster than 3G: based on 1.5 Mbps UK average speed for 3G (source: most recent Ofcom speed survey) and 8-12 Mbps average speed for 4GEE (source: EE data).
Click to expand...

It's about 5 times yes, I know it's 4 times faster then HSPA (3.5G). The demo on the EE event had a speed of 20Mbps, which is around broadband speed (better then most broadband providers like Sky/Talk Talk/Plus Net). Not as fast as Fiber-Optics, but this is on the go. In US, you can get around 25Mbps-35Mbps, still not as fast as Fiber, but it's definitely very good for something mobile.
 
dchao said:
I'm traveling between the US and UK with my VZW iPad. From my experience the downlink on HSPA+ is roughly half of on the LTE. But the uplink speed is really impressive on LTE, you can reach 5-10mbps easily, only 1-2 mbps on HSPA+.
Click to expand...

Yes my AT&T iPhone 4S holds up very well compared to VZW LTE devices in my area.
 
Lunfai said:
Oh xD I mean't that they're rolling LTE out next year, not sure about DC-HSPA. I know they're already HSPA + which is like 3.625555555555555.....G LOL. I know HSPA+ is capable of 11 Mbps.



It's about 5 times yes, I know it's 4 times faster then HSPA (3.5G). The demo on the EE event had a speed of 20Mbps, which is around broadband speed (better then most broadband providers like Sky/Talk Talk/Plus Net). Not as fast as Fiber-Optics, but this is on the go. In US, you can get around 25Mbps-35Mbps, still not as fast as Fiber, but it's definitely very good for something mobile.
Click to expand...


These numbers are killing me on a Sunday :/

I get about 8-9 download at home with Three, about 2-3 with O2.

My home broadband is 8 down, we don't get fibre optic here on the beach (pretty much).

But if EE are quoting their average to be 8-12 download, then is LTE really worth it?
 
ct2k7 said:
These numbers are killing me on a Sunday :/

I get about 8-9 download at home with Three, about 2-3 with O2.

My home broadband is 8 down, we don't get fibre optic here on the beach (pretty much).

But if EE are quoting their average to be 8-12 download, then is LTE really worth it?
Click to expand...

They're being modest, just incase you don't see the full speeds. I know in areas where the technology is fully supported you'll get better speeds, and it can as good as this:

ee-4g-launch-speed-tested-0.jpg


Source: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/47448/ee-4g-launch-speed-tested

What are you using on Three to connect to the network? iPhone 4S, if so you're already using HSPA+ :).
 
ct2k7 said:
I was thinking that, but there's being modest and then there's putting it down.
Click to expand...

Yep, but there's so many consumers out there, if for example you advertise at that speed and don't get it then they'll complain, so they'll average the internet speed to something much more achievable. Once the technology is implemented and advances, then we'll see the speed increases and the real benefits of 4G.
 
Lunfai said:
Yep, but there's so many consumers out there, if for example you advertise at that speed and don't get it then they'll complain, so they'll average the internet speed to something much more achievable. Once the technology is implemented and advances, then we'll see the speed increases and the real benefits of 4G.
Click to expand...

Looking at things right now, including the fact that they have a monopoly, I don't see it becoming so overcrowded that would warrant it
 
ct2k7 said:
To be honest, this is pretty poor:


4G five times faster than 3G: based on 1.5 Mbps UK average speed for 3G (source: most recent Ofcom speed survey) and 8-12 Mbps average speed for 4GEE (source: EE data).
Click to expand...

Yep. Saturation of wireless networks is always going to be a big problem, but I didn't think it would take this long to catch up to wired networks. I had 10mbps wired internet connections like 7 years ago.
 
ct2k7 said:
Looking at things right now, including the fact that they have a monopoly, I don't see it becoming so overcrowded that would warrant it
Click to expand...

I think it's more for the fact that 4G will eventually become a major consumer product that replaces home broadband. The idea behind the fact that you can carry a dongle around with you to use the internet can be something much more desirable. The speeds are finally catching up to the speeds that broadband can achieve, and hence they're going to push it as a service which can replace home broadband all together.

dchao said:
Never seen it. I have been to quite a few cities in the US. :(
Click to expand...

I think there priority right now is to implement it everywhere, once that happens (which will take A LONG time for US haha), they'll be working with it to make it faster.
 
Lunfai said:
I think it's more for the fact that 4G will eventually become a major consumer product that replaces home broadband. The idea behind the fact that you can carry a dongle around with you to use the internet can be something much more desirable. The speeds are finally catching up to the speeds that broadband can achieve, and hence they're going to push it as a service which can replace home broadband all together.
Click to expand...

They're offering home broadband as well :p
 
dchao said:
Never seen it. I have been to quite a few cities in the US. :(

Typically, you can get 50 up and down, which is really impressive already!
Click to expand...

It's impressive but only in the same way that a Ferrari can go 200mph. What's the actual use case on a phone? I'd much rather have say a solid, uncapped 5mb everywhere than a capped super fast connection in just a few hotspots.
 
ct2k7 said:
These numbers are killing me on a Sunday :/

I get about 8-9 download at home with Three, about 2-3 with O2.

My home broadband is 8 down, we don't get fibre optic here on the beach (pretty much).

But if EE are quoting their average to be 8-12 download, then is LTE really worth it?
Click to expand...
8-9 down with Three? That's pretty good indeed. I can only get 4-5 here in central London. The main difference in LTE is the uplink speed.
 
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