If you are an owner of a smartphone then you’ve certainly heard of 3G, 4G and LTE. Mobile telecom providers like Verizon and AT&T are ever advertising that they have the largest and fasted 4G or LTE technology. It’s quite difficult to comprehend how these companies have the audacity to make such claims. However, when you purchase a smartphone, it is essential to understand and know the difference. The kind of data network you choose can have profound effects on the performance of your performance.
When purchasing smartphone, you are ideally required to sign up and create an account for a service plan which will determine your call minutes and data usage. Once you become connected with a mobile provider’s network, your smartphone will then be able to communicate with the external world in order to support certain features like internet browsing, email, and maps. Most smartphone applications rely on receiving and sending data across networks.
3G Network
3G networks is the first technology that had sufficient speed necessary to offer decent smarphone experience for users. There were other smartphones which used previous 2G EDGE technology, but they had slow data speeds, and users had to wait lengthy times to access information.
Each of the top mobile network providers offer 3G networks to provide full coverage across majority of the country. There are basically two 3G technologies that are competing and currently being used: GSM (Global System for Mobiles) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). T-Mobile and AT&T use GSM technologies, while Sprint and Verizon use CDMA technology. Because these technologies are not compatible with one another, you cannot use an AT&T phone on a Verizon network.
4G and LTE
4G technology is what succeeded 3G technology. Mobile network providers are still in the process of establishing their 4G networks. In essence, 4G is way faster the 3G networks. But before we can even think of comparing the two innovations, it will be important to know that versions of 4G are.
Some people believe 4G to be LTE technology. Usually when a mobile service provider speaks of a 4G network without the mention of LTE, then they are merely speaking of a HSPA (High Speed Packet Access network).
Theoretically, LTE technology is up 10 times faster than 3G technology. Practically, the network speed generally depends on the signal strength and network load. Even if LTE falls short of its theoretical ambitions, n terms of speed, it’s still way faster than 3G. Certain activities which require huge amounts of data, streaming movies and other live videos, will work well on LTE networks.