Everything you need to know about 4G

Lou Hattersley provides an in-depth guide to 4G

4G is the fourth-generation of mobile internet, 
and when you buy an Apple product that 
connects to mobile internet you’ll be o ffered 
the choice of a 4G or 3G service. But what is 4G and 
is it worth paying for?
Many of our readers have a host of questions 
about the new service: Is 4G tangibly any better 
than 3G? Is 4G worth paying extra for? How much 
more does 4G cost over 3G? Who has the best 4G 
service, and so on. All of these are valid questions, 
so here is our guide to 4G.

What is 4G?

4G is the new cellular data connection (the bit 
that gives you mobile internet) and it replaces the 
reasonably well-known 3G. They stand for fourth generation 
and third-generation respectively. This 

4G video will help explain the new service.

Is 4G better than 3G?

4G is categorically better than 3G: what it o ffers is
improved speed. But how much faster is 4G than
3G really? When you start to road test the new
service it’s not so clear.
Technically 3G o ffers a theoretical download
speed of 100MB/s and 4G o ffers a theoretical
top-speed of 1GB/s. So on paper, the 4G internet
network is 10x faster than the 3G network it wants
to replace. However, you’ll never see those speeds
because the speed also depends on the power
emitting from the cellular tower; your distance from
the tower; and how many other people are using
same cell phone tower as you.
In central London you’ll typically see between
5MB/s and 10MB/s using an iPhone on a 3G
connection. USwitch.com has a handy map showing
reported speeds on di fferent services around the
country – tinyurl.com/kmc8ucx.

How fast is 4G?

The speed you’ll get on a 4G iPhone is undoubtedly
faster than the 3G counterparts. Speeds of around
65MB are routinely reported in central London.
Which is nothing to be sni ed at when compared
to the regular speeds shown. Two things are worth
noting, though. First of all, the latest versions of
the iPhone have Dual Carrier HSDPA. (DC-HSDPA).
This essentially combines two high quality 3G
connections into one. So we have seen speeds
averaging 20MB/s on an iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s.
While 65MB/s is categorically faster than 20MB/s

on the iPhone and iPad, you won’t notice much
di erence between the two when doing day-to-day
tasks: email, web browsing, running most apps;
even online video has maxed out well before that
point. Where you might fi nd an improvement with
the faster speed is when using cloud services like
iCloud, Dropbox, and so on. When sharing and
syncing larger fi les the faster data connection will
enable you to work faster
Remember that 4G isn’t just faster than 3G, it’s
also more reliable. Because the service is more
powerful it typically o ers a more stable connection.

How much does a 4G service cost?

When 4G fi rst launched in the UK the only provider
was the, then new, company EE. This initially
charged a premium price for its 4G service. Because
of this 4G has something of a reputation for being
high priced. This isn’t necessarily the case, though,
and pricing has fallen in line. If you have an unlocked
iPad, you can get the following:

Three: 1GB per month, £7.50

EE: 3GB per month, £16

Vodafone: 1GB per month, £10

O2: 1GB per month, £10

Bear in mind that these deals tend to change
fairly quickly as the companies react to each other’s
pricing strategy. So keep an eye on the various
companies.

Will I get a 4G connection in my area?

The service you get in your area depends largely
on which supplier you go with. I started setting
its network up fi rst, so it has the widest area of
coverage. Vodafone and Three are still rolling
out their network, although the situation is rapidly
improving. If you want to see what the coverage
is like in your area you can use a services online
coverage checkers.
Is 4G worth paying for?
It largely depends on your area, but we think 4G is
worth paying the extra for. Especially if you’re on
the Three network which has rolled it into its current
pricing strategy (so you’re not really being asked
to pay extra). But it does depend on how much 4G
is in your area, if you live or work in an area with a
good 4G connection you’ll will benefi t from the new
service. But if not you’ll end up paying extra just to
use the same 3G connection as before.