3G is getting even faster
On a cell phone or smartphone – it might seem like 3G is 3G. Fast – but not as fast as your Internet connection at home.
While the technology press has been focusing on the imminent roll-out of 4G networks there has also been a lot of work being done to improve the speed of 3G wireless data connections.
T-Mobile, the last of the “Big Four” U.S. cellular carriers to unfurl their fast data system is already boosting speeds big time.
In the past few days, T-M has been busy turning on their version of the super-speedy, 7.2Mbps, HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) network in a limited number of markets – including New York City and Chicago.
This morning I decided to see how fast my 3G connection could go on my 3G Motorola CLIQ Android-OS smartphone.
From my mobile test laboratory in Northern Manhattan (where I receive better cellular signals from across the Hudson in New Jersey) I set the phone’s mobile browser to MobileSpeedTest.com - pressed a few buttons – sat back and waited for the results.
Not bad.
According to the results I’m getting more than double the speed of a standard DSL home connection via T-Mobile’s HSPA network. Plus, I’m pretty sure that if I tried this in Midtown Manhattan I would get even faster speeds.
Speaking of faster speeds, T-Mobile is currently threatening to do its own 3G much better next year. They’re reportedly busy testing their next-generation HSPA+ system in Philadelphia. It is supposedly capable of downloads approaching 21Mbps.
For the record, both AT&T and Verizon are also busy working, behind the scenes, to upgrade their current 3G networks. Both companies are going with the forthcoming LTE (Long Term Evolution) 4G data network standard.
All of this may sound somewhat confusing – but what this really means is that wireless data connections are getting faster and better.
And if the carriers can control themselves and keep their monthly data charges in check – the bottom line will be that more and more of our lives will soon be lived and controlled on faster and better wireless devices.