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4G+ & 4.5G Lauched by EE & Vodafone
wavejockglw
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Browsing speeds on some 4G handsets in some UK cities are set to accelerate as two UK operators switch on an improved version of the mobile technology.
Called 4G+ by EE and 4.5G by Vodafone, the technology can offer data rates of 150 megabits per second (Mbps).
In practice, those signing up to use the service should see speeds of up to 90 Mbps - much faster than standard 4G.
However, the technology is only usable on two handsets currently available in the UK.
Full Story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29832319
Called 4G+ by EE and 4.5G by Vodafone, the technology can offer data rates of 150 megabits per second (Mbps).
In practice, those signing up to use the service should see speeds of up to 90 Mbps - much faster than standard 4G.
However, the technology is only usable on two handsets currently available in the UK.
Full Story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29832319
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It does appear that were now getting a real location divide on mobile technology. As now some parts are 2G and others 4G. So much for the notion of bringing 3G to most of the UK.
From pictures I've seen, EE are showing it as 4G+ on phones.
Travel from Alton to Winchester. In Alton there is 4G on Vodafone. Once you go out of Alton you're down to GPRS and you are until you get to Winchester. Arrive in Winchester, 4G on Vodafone.
I know, it's nuts.
It's like Cornwall isn't even there to EE. You would think at least Truro would have something. Oh and that mast in the coach park of the Eden project. : )
Don't they only have 5Mhz of 1800 or something?
Aggregation has to be equal chunks I think so I guess they could do 5Mhz of 800 and 5Mhz or 1800 delivering whopping speeds of oh, I reckon about 30 meg. Hahahaha
I get 30mbps on 3G and 5-10 on 4G at home(crap 4G signal). Yes when its on 4G everything is much faster. Its like a 3G signal has to build up. If you watch a speed test it'll be straight at the speed on 4G but 3G starts off slow and slowly gets to 30Mbps. G.
This translates into faster browsing.
150mbps is useful for people doing large downloads and uploads and not just general useage.
The way you have put that makes it sound like that Vodafone have 4G in the south west but they have nothing except South Molton so a coverage of at least a hundred users.:D
Will it play TV content in better quality? no
Will the smaller apps on a phone that are 20MB come down faster? well yes, but it's already 10 seconds on standard 4G
Will browsing be faster, no
I can't see many consumer benefits right now over and above 4G, plus those 2 providers will no doubt charge an arm and a leg for it , and give you limited data packages so you can use it up in less than an hour even if you did download anything big.
Whilst I see where you're coming from and agree.
In an ideal world I'd want it everywhere just to see the minimum average speed on a mobile connection increase. Rather than having ~1Mbps average everywhere it'd be nice to consistently get over 10Mbps for example no matter where you are.
And yes, I know standard 4G can do that but I'm a huge fan of 4G development. DO agree about the data caps and pricing through. Thankfully O2 and Voda released a 20GB plan recently to match EE. Now for all of them to do more data on SIM Only plans.
If it is just for ordinary day to day use then standard LTE seems to do the trick, it is more about how much I can use vs cost than speed for me, and I suspect a large portion of the general user base of any network. If you are just interested in very high speeds then EE or Vodafone is the way to go, definitely not Three or O2.
Out of interest, how much is the 20GB plan?
On EE it starts from £38.99pm (Upfront cost on certain phones)
On O2 it starts from £48pm (Upfront cost on certain phones)
On Voda it starts from £46.50pm (Upfront cost on certain phones)
Agreed once again, but being able to have fast LTE speeds, VoLTE and coverage everywhere would be nice for once.
So decided to get an EE 4g+ osprey, 25Gb per month, on a rolling monthly contract at £30 per month.
While I get 4g from the office, normally around the 25mb speed 10mb up, I'm borderline 4g at the b&b, so it's drops to 3G+, but I get around 8mb speed, 1.5ish up.
The ping, normally around the 90 m/s
I do play the xbox one and ps4 but certainly not online games like BF4, the ping to too much.
It's great though
St. Austell is technically larger than Truro, maybe it should go first
Vodafone struggle to have 3G in the south west, asking for 4G is overdoing it
Their 3G site near me is relatively new but it still has 2G performance...
As for EE/3, I am guessing there is some MBNL holdup given that their coverage mirrors each other for Devon and Cornwall and neither are expanding - that is, Plymouth/Exeter/Torbay and thats it, while tiny places up country seem to be getting it all the time.
EE and Vodafone are playing their spectrum cards now and why not? They can quite legitimately claim to have the fastest networks operating in the UK and that differentiates them form the others. Tech savvy early adopters might well be swayed by the latest 4G technology when choosing which network to contract with.
Yeah, Aberdeen is yet to manage reliable indoor 4G coverage for EE. Bit disappointing really... it hasn't improved much since it was launched in December.
Had a phone come on EE yesterday and with 20GB of allowance doing some tests was not going to really dent my data so i wanted to see what I can get.
42Mbps was the lowest up to 54Mbps on a Sony Z3 at lunchtime on a Saturday!
Hoping to get hands on a Note 4 when in London next week so I can check out 4G+ as it looks really great to have.
Really looks like the spectrum allocations are coming into play now to make a difference
EE has much more spectrum to use for double speed and started their rollout 18 months before Three, so have more base stations deployed, plus their investment has been funded by I think £2BN, which is considerably more than Three, but of course you pay for that with higher prices.
I do have to ask what you need more then 10Mb/s on your phone for though. I know I am perfectly happy with 10Mb/s and the cost vs not having a fixed allowance.
Guess its almost like a car, why get a £100k Ferrari when you are only driving around town with a 40MPH speed limit.
I end up staying in a lot of hotels, mainly when I visit London so tether a lot. Means if i need to download that large iOS update on my Mac i can do so, or if i want to download large files whilst streaming 1080p it has more than enough.