On my iPhone 4S I'm getting around 9-10mbps download and 3-5 up, so with that in mind would my phone be achieving that on 3G or would it be HSDPA? I'm on Three if that makes any odds.

I've always wondered this but as you know the iPhone only displays a 3G icon no matter what it's receiving.

3G maxes out at around 384kbits, so that is HSDPA.

Hsdpa is 3G... well its a type of 3G.

384kbps? You know that's not even 1mb? Think you got that wrong there

I thought HSDPA was faster?

Power is talking about the base umts/3G spec which has a max speed of 384kbps, but obviously the advances and different releases of 3G can support higher speeds.

Go to Google and type in different types of 3G spec/releases or something like that. I'd post a link but im on my phone.

HSDPA is 3.5G

It's still part of 3g in general. just like LTE is 3g too. (although its branded as 4g and is probably 3.9G)

Yes, the original 3G spec was 384Kbps. Unlikely this is being used anywhere now.
HSDPA (3.5G) is available in various speeds. 1.2, 3.6, 7.2 and 14.4Mbps.
Very few EE or Three cells will be less than 7.2 now. Most cells now also employ enhanced uplink or HSUPA to improve upload speed to around 5.6Mbps.
HSPA+ (3.75G) can achieve 15-20Mbps in ideal conditions with DC-HSDPA potentially achieving up to 40Mbps but more likely 15-30.
As was said, LTE (3.9G) is still a 3G technology but doesn't suffer from cell breathing and power level variations like 3G so coverage and in building penetration is way better. Pretty much the same as 2G in fact.
LTE advanced will be true 4G and hopefully will be carried over 700Mhz spectrum.

iPhone speeds were/are....
iPhone 3G - HSDPA 3.6
3Gs - HSDPA 7.2
4 - HSDPA 7.2, HSUPA 5.6
4s - HSDPA 14.4 / 5.6
5 - HSPA+ / DC-HSDPA

@Devon

With the cell breathing on 3g (hspa) cells wont that also apply to the lte? since there on the same mast?

No. Same mast, different antennas. 3G is MBNL. Separate cabs/antennas. LTE/2G sharing separate cabs/antennas on 1800Mhz. LTE doesn't breath so it's coverage will mirror the new enhanced 2G network. Where you currently have a slow indoor GPRS 2 bar signal, but no 3G, you'll have a similar 2 bar LTE signal at between 10 and 40Mbps.. Will be amazing!

That was a really interesting read. Thanks for the info *thumbs up*

Thanks for clearing that up folks

Surely in-building penetration is more a function of frequency and power than anything else?

A microwave used for telephony still has to obey basic physics of waves. I don't see how the data standard used affects this.

The same way that 3G900 from O2 or Vodafone will have better penetration than 3G on 2100MHz.