Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Will Edge be any faster after the iphone release?

G

Geffen

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 23, 2007
387
6
Michigan
Just wondered if Edge would be faster after July 11th when most people will be upgrading to the 3G iphone? since they'll be less people using it?
 
I could see why you might think it'll be faster since it'll have less load, but it'll likely stay the same. It's not like the network has been totally saturated and bogged down by so many users. Plus, there will still be plenty of people on it with the iPhone 3G. For example, there is no 3G in my hometown, so I'll still be on Edge until I go out of town to a place with 3G.
 
Theoretically, yes it is faster.

Will you notice it?

Probably not.

There's not enough people switching to make a noticeable difference.
 
Geffen said:
Just wondered if Edge would be faster after July 11th when most people will be upgrading to the 3G iphone? since they'll be less people using it?
Click to expand...

Just because yo have a 3G phone does not necessarily mean that it's using 3G. 3G is not available in many areas, so those who have a 3G phone but have no 3G connection will be using EDGE.
 
If AT&T Wireless is building out their internal networking infrastructure to support the higher data rates to customers required by 3G, then Edge data may experience a bit less slowdowns during peak hour usage saturation periods. May or may not be noticeable.
 
I read a story recently saying that a software solution had been developed to theoretically double the speed of edge. Something about pushing data down two different cell towers when available. Not related to the 3G release, though.
 
EDGE will always stay EDGE and the iPhone will be capped at 1.4Mbps rather then the 1.7Mbps that 3G supports. AT&T is expanding their 3G coverage by an incredible amount. Even my little county I live in will be 3G August 30th. I love having access to Mapping tools for AT&T to find out this information.

For Florida alone this year AT&T is spending $220 Million alone.
 
ugp said:
EDGE will always stay EDGE and the iPhone will be capped at 1.4Mbps rather then the 1.7Mbps that 3G supports. AT&T is expanding their 3G coverage by an incredible amount. Even my little county I live in will be 3G August 30th. I love having access to Mapping tools for AT&T to find out this information.

For Florida alone this year AT&T is spending $220 Million alone.
Click to expand...

They're not necessarily limiting the iPhone to 1.4mbits, they're just saying that's what current seeds are. Speeds could easily increase to 2 or 3mbits by next year as more capacity comes online.

Also, current 3G HSDPA speeds in the US (on AT&T) range anywhere from 3.6 to 7.2 supported maximum... with 1.4mbits being "real world" speeds. I myself have never seen my AT&T aircard exceed 1.3mbits anywhere in the U.S. The limitations are largely the physical data connections to the towers (the T1's).
 
protekt0r said:
They're not necessarily limiting the iPhone to 1.4mbits, they're just saying that's what current seeds are. Speeds could easily increase to 2 or 3mbits by next year as more capacity comes online.

Also, current 3G HSDPA speeds in the US (on AT&T) range anywhere from 3.6 to 7.2 supported maximum... with 1.4mbits being "real world" speeds. I myself have never seen my AT&T aircard exceed 1.3mbits anywhere in the U.S. The limitations are largely the physical data connections to the towers (the T1's).
Click to expand...

No they stated that the iPhone will be capped at 1.4Mbps. And that it will be a minimum of 1.7Mbps where 3G is. All smartphones they stated would be capped at 1.4Mbps
 
ugp said:
No they stated that the iPhone will be capped at 1.4Mbps. And that it will be a minimum of 1.7Mbps where 3G is. All smartphones they stated would be capped at 1.4Mbps
Click to expand...

Everyone is misinterpreting the press release AT&T put out here about data speeds on the iPhone. The network is currently limited to 1.4mbits, not the DEVICES. The idea that all current and future phones will always be limited to 1.4mbits is physically impossible since all 3G HSDPA chips support a minimum of 3.6mbits... and newer ones 7.2mbits; no firmware updates are required to make these devices faster. As AT&T increases data rates to its towers so will the real world data rates. Everyone seems to be conveniently leaving out this sentence in the same press release:

AT&T said:
AT&T's 3G network is the best positioned among American carriers to grow in line with customer demand, evolving to next-generation speeds incrementally during the next few years.
Click to expand...

This is what I meant. I don't want to sound like a insider wanna-be here, but I used to work for AT&T Mobility and I have access to those with extensive knowledge of the network. This has been discussed with former colleagues at AT&T.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back