Is LTE just a money making gimmick for cell phone carriers?

Majcric

Golden Member
May 3, 2011
1,369
37
91
Opinions... what do you folks think? I just picked up an iphone 5s and the LTE speed is absolutely blazing often rivaling my internet speed at home. But wait.... be careful it will shoot you over your data in an instant (figuratively speaking) Long story short we have awesome speed on mobile phs but are very data starved. Cell ph carriers looking to get filthy rich off of suckers.
 

jana519

Senior member
Jul 12, 2014
771
100
106
The gimmick is the "unlimited data" plans that aren't unlimited.
 
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RockinZ28

Platinum Member
Mar 5, 2008
2,173
49
101
No, at least not on Verizon. Their 3G is painful even for simple web browsing. Better than nothing if you really need it, but LTE is far superior for doing anything.

I do think it's a shame the way things have progressed, but when people are willing to pay $50 for what, 2GB? What do you expect carriers to do? Time to rake in the dough.

Still have my unlimited though. Will never give it up until forced.
 

mikegg

Golden Member
Jan 30, 2010
1,740
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Of course it's a scam. Rather than spending parts of their billions and billions in profit to upgrade their capacity, they just cap you because for whatever reason, despite having 4 major carriers, they all have nearly identical prices and plans.
 

OBLAMA2009

Diamond Member
Apr 17, 2008
6,574
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data limits are a total joke. thank gawd i have unlimited verizon. i use about 40gb a month, theres no way i could limit use to 2gb, 4gb,...it seems sort of ridiculous to have lte-a (?) with 50 Mb/s and at the same time have a 2 gb limit
 

kaerflog

Golden Member
Jul 23, 2010
1,899
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Luckily for me I have WiFi both at work and home where I spend the majority of my time.
1gb/month is more than plenty for me.
 

Kanalua

Diamond Member
Jun 14, 2001
4,860
2
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No. T-Mobile LTE is faster than my home internet (Oceanic/Time-Warner Cable). T-Mobile's HSPA+ "4G" is a slower.

Having their unlimited data plan is amazing.
 

Eug

Lifer
Mar 11, 2000
23,583
996
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LTE is awesome. Even with "just" a 2 GB plan, I wouldn't be able to go back to only 3G. Too slow in the real world, esp. when it's congested.
 

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
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I don't want blazing fast connection speeds just so I can use more GeeBees, I want my existing data usage to be done faster. When I bring up maps and search for a place it should be instant, when I launch a web search I should see results right away. This is where LTE makes a huge difference (except when you're on Sprint's terrible network).
 

cronos

Diamond Member
Nov 7, 2001
9,380
26
101
LTE per se is not a gimmick. It's sort of miracle, really, if you've experienced it fully (and compared it to how it was). But yes, the system around it is setup to not exactly support the type of consumption mania that amazing speed brought on your psyche.

I am with Red Storm though. I'm actually fine with 100-200 MB/month, even. It's just that when I need my data, I want it NOW. LTE does that.
 

Demo24

Diamond Member
Aug 5, 2004
8,357
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The data caps are terrible, but other than that its very useful. Be even better when they really start turning up voice over LTE.
 

ibex333

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2005
4,086
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Personally, I don't feel like people "need" LTE. Is it nice? Sure. But it's "necessary" only for a small percent of the populace.

When I had 3G my pages loaded just fine, and it was fast enough. The only thing which is definitely better on LTE is the apps downloading and stuff like that. But really, it's not like we're gonna die if our app will take longer to download. And either way, to take full advantage of LTE you need a big data plan and that's expensive. I get by with 200MB/month thanks to Android's awesome data limiting settings and warnings.

A big drawback to LTE is it's biggest strength. If your phone decides to download something in the background and you're not watching, you are going to reach your limit in no time! With 3G it would take longer...
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,736
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I don't know how a cell connection that's as fast as my cable internet can be a gimmick. It's quite real and very useful.

I'm hoping some of the carriers start upping their data caps to compete with each other in the next few years. We're already seeing some price wars due to T-Mobile and pre-paid services. AT&Ts new family plans are a really good deal, and even the individual plans improved since they took out the built in subsidy cost (I'm paying almost $20 less per month now).
 

VashHT

Diamond Member
Feb 1, 2007
3,058
865
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Yeah I agree OP, I go over my 3Gb limit pretty easily just streaming music on my 15 minute drive to work. LTE is pretty nice for general web browsing but the data limit really puts a damper on what LTE could be if you could actually use it whenever you wanted.
 

OBLAMA2009

Diamond Member
Apr 17, 2008
6,574
3
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i hate all the graphical ads that pop up on my phone. somethimes i wonder how much data crap like that takes up
 

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
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I absolutely do not need it. HSPA+ is more than fast enough for what I want to do on a phone.


In my area, HSPA+ is almost as fast for speeds. Latency I know LTE wins, but the difference isn't the world of difference everyone says, at least IMO.
 

Roland00Address

Platinum Member
Dec 17, 2008
2,196
260
126
LTE is awesome for two reasons

1) It it s more efficient so if your spectrum is crowded it works better, you get faster speeds with the same congestion.
2) It gives you faster speeds.

Personally I care about number 1 the most.
 

VashHT

Diamond Member
Feb 1, 2007
3,058
865
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I absolutely do not need it. HSPA+ is more than fast enough for what I want to do on a phone.


In my area, HSPA+ is almost as fast for speeds. Latency I know LTE wins, but the difference isn't the world of difference everyone says, at least IMO.

There are areas by me where I got 50 down on LTE, even though HSPA is pretty fast it doesn't come close to that. Also upload speeds seem to be an even bigger difference.
 

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
81
There are areas by me where I got 50 down on LTE, even though HSPA is pretty fast it doesn't come close to that. Also upload speeds seem to be an even bigger difference.

I get about 20 down on HSPA+ here, 25 ish with LTE.

Uploading I get 5-6 with HSPA+ and 9-10 with LTE.

Using Rogers in Canada.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,967
19
81
The gimmick is the "unlimited data" plans that aren't unlimited.

Most things billed as unlimited have never been really so, it's based on a typical use.

Try staying at an all-you-can-eat place for 8 hours with 10 friends. :)

Most companies don't limit anyone to 2GB, you can pay to play.

I go through 20GB on 6 iphones. Only two are really heavy users, I almost always have access to wifi.