Mike Dano in Fierce Wireless created a chart (below) that breaks down the projected “4G” coverage of AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile in the US by the end of the year.
Today’s EVDO and HSDPA networks provide real-world speeds of around 500 Kbps to around 1 Mbps on good days, explains Dano. But carriers’ network upgrades set to roll out throughout the rest of this year should provide significantly faster speeds.
User speed is determined by distance from the tower, the number of users sharing the tower, and tower backhaul speeds. AT&T, for example, will be rolling out backhaul upgrades to the tower for the next year or more. Currently, many towers are fed with only 3-4, 1.5 Mbps T-1 lines. Theoretically, one user could max out the entire capacity.
I’m skeptical that Verizon can approach their speed and coverage projections. After the marketing hype (with select coffee shops fed by LTE microcells nearby), I’d be surprised if Verizon can deliver even half of their numbers in the real world. Verizon Wireless has said it will return to tiered monthly data plans for LTE, marking a move away from the “unlimited” (read 5 GB) data plans it currently offers on its 3G network.
I’ve been using Clear full-time since December 2008 in Portland and agree with Dano’s numbers for Clear’s WiMAX service. Clear, which offers true unlimited service, says their typical WiMAX subscriber uses 7GB a month.
It goes without saying that no carrier currently offers “true” 4G, which is defined by the ITU as providing up to 100 Mbps (mobile) and 1 Gpbs (fixed).
Sam, I used Sprint’s broadband here in Denver; and was getting a little better than half a gig down. We switched to Verizon and the bit rate went DOWN to 38 kbps. I keep up with wireless technology; but when I’m sitting in the city limits of Denver, with line of site t Lookout Mountain; and the REAL LIFE numbers are as stated above; the numbers you’re quoting for Verizon are BS!
Left by omniobso on July 1st, 2010