Reply With QuoteThe answer to #2 is currently NO. LTE does not support voice in the US....yet
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Where's the dialtone?
Hello everyone...
I'm sorry if this is a dumb question or if this has been posted before, I searched but couldn't find anything.
Currently I have an iPhone 4, and sometimes (almost everyday for couple of hours) my phone becomes unusable because of all the congestion on the AT&T network... Specially at the airports (where I work).
I'm currently eligible for an upgrade and I have some questions in case I get an LTE capable phone...
1. Is the AT&T network congested PERIOD regardless if is 3G or LTE? Or someone using LTE won't have all the capacity constrains that I'm facing right now? So for example at the airport or at a baseball game in Wrigley Field where my phone becomes a brick... Can LTE fix that?
2. Can LTE fix the dropped call problem? We all know AT&T is known for that, but just wondering...
Thank you very much for your input... I just went to the store today and the sales rep was talking about LTE like it was the 8th wonder of the world. I asked him all the questions I posted here and his responses were extremely vague.
Phone Collector
The answer to #2 is currently NO. LTE does not support voice in the US....yet
I've climbed a cellphone tower
AT&T has been known for dropped calls however I believe that issue is fixed for the most part. I can say in Philly Metro there has been a 360 with dropped calls.Originally Posted by sjprjr
Marc
Radiation is good
They did a 360? So they're right back where they started? Or did they do a 180?
(I kid, btw, I understood the message)
I've got more phones than fingers
AT&T seems to drop way less calls than they used to. Yeah 180 is prob more like it although we could use 360 and say they have come full circle with nice upgrades and improvements.
Radiation is good
#1 should mostly be fixed by LTE for your data and such - but it also depends on the overall backhaul and how congested it is too.
#2 won't exactly be fixed by YOU using LTE, but as more people hop on LTE it should lessen 3G's load which is then open for more calls thereby making it better for calling... in theory.
Post Machine
I don't have a problem for dropped calls...that was a major issue when the network was under built but they have progressed a lot since then...
Phone fan
Don't forget about fallback. Just because you have LTE in your area doesn't mean you'll get it all the time. Your signal will fallback to HSPA+. I have been on Verizon and there are plenty of times where you fallback to 3G.
After all of the carriers finish their upgrades to LTE I think AT&T and TMO will have the best networks because the fallback is HSPA+ unlike 3G on VZW and Sprint. The networks on TMO and AT&T are also more layered - HSPA, HSPA+ and LTE unlike VZW and Sprint where its either LTE or 3G.
This is 1 PHONEY website!
Which is great and all, but AT&T can only deploy LTE to ~80% of the nation, whereas Verizon can completely cover EVDO, meaning no fallback at all. HSPA+ is a better fallback then EVDO, but Verizon will have zero fallback in 11 months. They are moving far too fast for that to be near the issue AT&T claims it is.
Verizon Wireless: America's fastest, largest and most reliable mobile broadband network.
I'm just a twenty-something year old college graduate speaking geek on HoFo!
Phone fan
Coverage has has nothing to do with fallback. I was on VZW only until recently and have enjoyed LTE for a long time. There have been many times where I and others have lost our LTE data signal and its falls back to 3G. It happens. This will happen on all networks. It doesn't matter what percentage of the country a carrier has covered in LTE there will be times where you will fallback.
This is 1 PHONEY website!
Coverage has a lot to do with fallback. If two networks are properly layered, there should be no reason why fall back should occur. If Verizon has LTE everywhere they have EVDO, fallback should be few and far between. Remember, as it is right now, chipsets are new and the network is not tuned as it will be in a year from now. AT&T will have much more fallback, as they can only roll out LTE to 80% of the nation. If they do what they should, the fallback will be to a speeder network than EVDO.
Phone fan
I don't live in a rural area so 80% coverage won't effect me. LTE will be in all major cities and secondary markets. For me that's all that matters.
I realize that you are on VZW which I was for many years up until last week. The reason why I left VZW had nothing to do with VZW but for other reasons. I live in a major city (2nd largest in the US) that was one of the first cities to get LTE. VZW better tune up there existing LTE coverage cause right now their LTE does slip back to EVDO. No carrier can guarantee that LTE will be running perfectly 24/7 no matter how layered. VZW has a good network no doubt about it but when the LTE slips I would rather have HSPA+ than EVDO.
SDeee 0wnz!
#1 LTE can't help you with your speeds if AT&T is running small slices to start with. Look at Cricket and MetroPCS, their LTE network runs at the speed of EVDO/UMTS 99 network even though the technical specifications for LTE calls for faster speeds than HSPA+. Running 1.25 MHz slices isn't going to produce speeds which can meet to exceed the speeds of HSPA+ nor can you really handle the demand produced by thousands of smartphones.
#2 LTE in its current form will only help you with data speeds. Once VoLTE is deployed by AT&T then voice on LTE will be possible, but for now you're limited to either GSM or UMTS for voice.
Post Machine
80% is a pretty high percentage and not going to be that big of a deal to be on HSPA+ in that 20%.....also i don't see VZW being 100% complete in 11 months.
Post Machine
I know what their 700mhz/AWS coverage looks like and it's not anywhere near only 20% of the land..lol....not even remotely close.
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