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I wish they wouldn't just use '4G' and '5G' as if they were one concrete thing. List the actual individual protocols. Sprint use to offer 4G in the United Stat
by djsumdog 7y ago
I wish they wouldn't just use '4G' and '5G' as if they were one concrete thing. List the actual individual protocols.
Sprint use to offer 4G in the United States that was Wi-Max based, but now almost all 4G is LTE. In Australia there was a Wi-Max provider (Vivi Wireless) but on a different frequency than the US and only via hot-spots (no phone support, that I know of).
Is 4G for all these reports LTE? What exactly is 5G in all these contexts? Are we talking about the same protocol, or another collection of protocols expected to have x speed at y range?
- wmf 7y agoAFAIK NR is the only 5G protocol. Exposing protocol details to consumers when those details do not correlate with performance is likely to just cause confusion.
- pdemporg 7y agoNR is the only 5G protocol (aside from Verizon's abortive proprietary 5G TF), but it couldn't hurt to at least specify if the spectrum being used is sub-6 or mmWave. This factor (700--3500 Mhz vs 26, 28, 39 GHz) is going to have the largest impact by far on the experience in terms of the bandwidth/coverage tradeoff. When it comes to discussing these two distinct clusters of spectrum, the difference is so stark that we might as well be talking about different protocols. 5G and 5G pro?...
- devnulloverflow 7y agoBut the 4G, 5G monikers don't correlate either.
- anderspitman 7y agoIn the US at least almost all 4G is LTE. Sometimes I'll see mine drop to HSPA, but rarely.