What is 4G?

[HermitIX]

I am with Verizon it’s not working out. I am looking at Clear 4G. Can anyone tell me if Clear is a good idea and what 4G is? My roommate seems to think 4G would mean our internet would be as slow as cell phone internet. We both have iPhones with 3G.

[Rapscallion]

More of a tech help query.

Rapscallion

[zenhashi]

It's like 3G, but faster :P

I've had a 3G mobile internet once, but I got fed up with it for a few reasons;

- Constant failing to load websites (connection timeout)
- Terrible latency (ping) when gaming, which caused the timeouts
- Unreliability of the 'net access

They somehow neglect to tell you that since it uses mobile networks to communicate and that speech always gets higher priority than data packets, get enough mobile users in your area and you get cut off.

That was with 3G, 4G I'm not so sure about... Out of curiosity, what speeds is the ISP promising/advertising with 4G?

[Alephcat]

4G is basically the faster version of 3G, how much faster in the real world I do not know. have a look here for more detailed information.

[Hawaiian Eskimo]

I've had some experience with Clear. Basically, if you just want to do basic web things, then it works fine. Streaming video will be slow (Youtube, Netflix, etc), and any kind of serious gaming will be out of the question because of the latency.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Clear used to be Clearwire, yeah? If so, then I have that currently. Yeah-- H is right. My bf tried to play WoW on my internet... he nearly killed me I don't do that sort of gaming, so I'm chill. Once in a while it needs to search for a signal... but that's because I'm not in a really good position. I used to live a few more stories up and never had a connection issue! I usually have to pause youtube vids and wait for them to load, but I also do that normally anyway-- I hate when I have to wait to see the entire vid. >.< made watching anime interesting.
The phone itself I have little idea.

[Imprl59]

I have Clear for my internet service provider as well. My speed at this moment is 5.19 down and 1.2 up. Nothing to wrie home about but fast enough for me. I was a lazy bum this weekend and laid on the couch watching netflix streaming movies and playing on the internet all weekend and it never flickered or paused.

The big issue with Clear is it depends on your situation how well it works. How many people in your area have it, how close are you to the tower, how good of a signal can you get, etc... I keep the modem on the covered back porch as I get the best signal strength there.

When I signed up about six months ago you had a few days trial so if it didnt work well in your location you can take the modem back and cancel the service.

[Orgaloth]

In Australia, 4G is being rolled out to replace my companys 3.5G network. As long as we are talking cellular data. My company is a world leader in the technology, and is in the Guiness book of records due to the speeds we can obtain.

Using the UMTS850 bandwidth, we hit download speeds of 42mbsn with devices on the market that can hit 20mbs. With this bandwidth we have no cell drop outs due to over full towers, although your dl speed will be affected. With the upgrade, we will be hitting 80mbs toward the end of the year, and planning to hit 100+mbs by mid next year. I have customers using the current devices for WoW with no complaints.

Now all this is on Australia's largest mobile network, and the company is focusing on more on mobile broadband then ADSL and cable internet, so our figures may not equal what Clear can do.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Other countries also have better infrastructure/is overall less up than those in the United States. There's Cracked articles and everything on this horrible situation.

[underemployeed]

I love how America is a great power....yet, some countries where people live in 3rd world conditions have better broadband saturation than us. Kind of sad when people can't get enough resources but, they get to stream porn at blazing fast speeds..... I'm still waiting for fiber optic to roll past the sticks.

[Geek King]

Other countries also have better infrastructure/is overall less up than those in the United States. There's Cracked articles and everything on this horrible situation.

Keep in mind, too, that there is a larger inhabited area in the US than most countries. To be sure sure, there is also a complacency issue with the companies (better left for Fratching), but the sheer area to be covered with new tech (wired or wireless) is staggering when you look at the cash involved. When new tech is rolled out, the usual M.O. is to start in a major city; then to other major cities, and finally to not-so-major cities and towns. The process takes years even after convincing a company's board of directors and stock holders to spend the money on upgrades rather than a larger stock dividend.