What’s the Difference Between 3G and 4G?

Written by / Tecca

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    • Why hold off?
    Pre-4G has nowhere near the coverage and availability of 3G phones currently, but you should still check your carrier’s coverage maps when considering a new smartphone. With the state of networks today, even a 4G-capable phone like Sprint’s Epic 4G will default to a 3G network if it can’t find a 4G signal. And 4G-capable phones in 3G areas can sneak in hidden costs for services you might not even be using. On Sprint’s network, the Epic 4G and Evo 4G smartphones come packaged with a $10 premium fee that you’ll pay monthly, whether you ever get anywhere near a 4G network or not. That makes your local 4G availability the biggest concern when considering a 4G phone.

    On the other hand, a 4G phone can run on a 3G network just fine, and it’ll be ready for the 4G revolution when the time comes. But depending on availability, your mobile plan may have already refreshed and you could be due for your next shiny piece of mobile technology.

    For now, consider sticking with your 3G phone, and keep your eyes and ears open for when widely available 4G networks spring up.

    [Image credits: Yutaka Tsutano]

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    Tecca is a next-generation personal electronics information and shopping service. We bring together the web’s leading content, commerce, and community features to provide comprehensive solutions for consumers’ ever-growing technology needs. Think of us as that tech savvy friend who helps you when you have questions about what to buy, what to  pay, how to make the most of you already have, and when it’s time to upgrade. Get to know us on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. Liz Patt is the Basics Section Editor for Tecca. She has a background in systems administration, technical support, and documentation writing in a variety of arenas. Liz strongly believes that there’s no such thing as too many tech toys, and can be seen in many an airport coffee shop sprouting a variety of devices. She holds B.A. in Women’s Studies from the University of Maryland and tries to put it to good use every day.

    Liz Patt
    Liz Patt
    Liz Patt is the Basics Section Editor for Tecca. She has a background in systems administration, technical support, and documentation writing in a variety of arenas. Liz strongly believes that there's no such thing as too many tech toys, and can be seen in many an airport coffee shop sprouting a variety of devices. She holds B.A. in Women's Studies from the University of Maryland and tries to put it to good use every day.

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    • http://profile.typepad.com/doctorparadox Doctorparadox

      Although it’s still the very early days of 4G, it’s exciting to think about what’s on the horizon… the potential for ubiquitous broadband internet is huge and could help revolutionize a ton of industries even beyond consumer electronics — health care, education, transportation, smart grid/smart home… can’t wait! Sure is an exciting time to be alive :)

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003406373934 Prachi

        Noticed you made a stop in my home town….Welcome to the Windy City!! Good luck to your boy Aaron….this will be an interesting fight ceoridnsing Ross Pearson is VERY hungry to fight in the UFC. I liked Pearson in the Ultimate Fighter’s Season 9…but I’ll be cheering for your boy…LC

    • http://profile.typepad.com/nemets Aleksandr Nemets

      Ok, download speed is clear.
      What about upload speed?
      How fast I can upload anything to the server or Facebook apps?

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003406385754 Ruby

        T-Mobile sent this unit to me for use with their AtHome service. Setup is prtety straightforward, plug in your SIM card, notify T-Mobile so they can activate it (arrange for 911 location service), plug in your RJ-11 phone and you’re in business. You get a nice landline phone with a dial-tone, clear connection, rj-11 plug for any standard kind of phone, 911 service, etc. However, there are two BIG problems. The first is that the RJ-11 interface is a very low power one. In other words, it will only power one phone at the most -and even that phone must use very little landline power or it will cause problems where you suddenly find yourself without service. Originally I tried connecting two phones to the unit with a splitter. The ring voltage on the Linksys is not enough to power two ringing phones. As a result, if a call comes in the phones will not ring properly and cause a power loss that messes up the router, dropping it’s connection to the internet and disabling your phone service until you give it a restart. Even if you have only one phone, it better not have a loud ringer or a lighted keypad or you’ll have similar problems. On more than one occasion I was expecting an important call only to find it dropped after two rings (I was not happy). I ended up having to shell out an extra $300 for a Viking ring & line voltage booster. Adding the booster really seemed to do the trick, I currently have 4 phones connected via a junction box and there are no more dropped calls. The other problem is Wifi range. My original router was a Netgear which I was very happy with. In order to use the AtHome service I have to replace my old router & Wifi with this Linksys. The Netgear used to give me 4 full bars all over my house where with the Linksys, I can only get two bars if I’m anything over 20 feet away from it. I tried connecting a better antenna which only slightly helped. Wifi output power is simply too low (and unlike other Wifi devices, the Linksys doesn’t offer configuration settings to increase or decrease transmit power). Cisco/Linksys would have saved a lot of people a lot of aggravation if they only designed the thing with a little more power from the get go. T-Mobile’s At Home service is a decent value until you add in all the time, effort and additional equipment needed to make it work properly. They require a two year commitment and I have to say at this point I’m sorry I ever signed up for it.

    • http://profile.typepad.com/d95759294631089932 D

      Color me confused but you contradicted yourself big time:

      “Even Sprint, the company with the apparent leg up in the 4G race, doesn’t yet offer true 4G on its 4G devices. Sprint’s service technically falls into the pre-4G category”

      “There is only one U.S. carrier that is offering true 4G service: Sprint.”

      So which is it????

    • http://profile.typepad.com/cadorette Daniel Cadorette

      1G..2G…3G…4G… when will it end…maybe 100G…this is just sugar to keep the bees coming back for more!!!

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003406372781 Antonio

        I have Cingular now AT T with a 8525 Phone. I have had no issues. The 8525 sutppros the 3G network and I must say the downloads are fast, DSL speeds. Data plans are kinda pricey, I have the 1350min unlimited data and a few extras and pay about $140-$160 a month. I would recommend AT T and get a phone that is 3G compatible. The 8525 has been the best phone so far, does all my office applications. I heard the Tilt is just being released with is the upgrade to mine. I would take a look at that one.

    • http://profile.typepad.com/beaubennett Beau Bennett

      Seventy-six Democratic members of Congress wrote a letter publicly supporting AT&T’s plans to merge with T-Mobile. The problem? The argument they relied on has been proven bogus by AT&T’s own words.

      With their stated rationale for backing the merger eliminated, these members of Congress have no reason to continue supporting the merger. Please demand that they publicly renounce their support for the merger.

      Please help us stop the takeover of T-Mobile by AT&T by sending a message to congress here:
      http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/attcongress

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003406385251 Anha

      We purchased this roteur when the phone service first came out about 4 years ago because we didn’t get cell service in our condo. We had two phones, as well as four computers two ps3 s, an xbox and wii and occasionally other things all running off this roteur. The signal was always great! Occasionally we would loose signal on the house phones and would have to reset the roteur, but rarely. We switched service providers about a year ago so we get service inside, so we no longer needed the house phone but we kept the roteur just for internet purposes. The internet signal was always strong! We just recently replaced the roteur because we could play online but were unable to connect to friends while playing video games. I would buy it again, and would deff recommend it as long as you’re not looking for anything fancy!