Filed under: iPhone
AT&T to limit iPhone 3G speeds to 1.4 Mbps?
The mobile phones, of course, have a slower connection compared to the 3G cards that AT&T offers. Some of the 3G cards can connect as fast as 7.2 Mbps down. So while Apple is touting their "3G speeds approaching WiFi speeds" you have to wonder why is AT&T limiting the bandwidth on the iPhone 3G so much.
Update: MacNN updated their post shortly after this posting. MacNN's sources are saying that the 1.4 Mbps speed is "observed" speed over the network.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dan said 5:27PM on 6-16-2008
Observed my @ss...
With everyone going for the 3G iPhone next month it was expected they would cap the service a bit in order so that everyone and their mother can use 3G without AT&T lgoing insane with the massive increase in bndwidth use.
Still even with the cap its a huge difference from EDGE. lol
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mmendoza27 said 5:38PM on 6-16-2008
You know... I never noticed that. I hope they don't cap it, that would be a load of bull***t. That doesn't make sense, it makes the iPhone looked crippled compared to other smartphones. That 3.6 Mbps could be useful for streaming radio, YouTube, mail, etc.
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Samuel said 6:25PM on 6-16-2008
Monsieur, what is O2's position?
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Bender Bending Rodriguez said 5:42PM on 6-16-2008
The 3G chip in the iPhone are capable of 7.2Mbps, being the Motorola Q's 3.6Mbps speed. But AT&T's network can't handle that. I don't think there is any network in the US that is rated at that speed in any area.
As for sustained speed, I get 1.4Mbs with AT&T using a Sierra Wireless USB card on my MacBook. I've even seen 1.7Mbps, but 1.4 is the norm. Hopefully AT&T have built well over this past year to accommodate the influx of new data users coming.
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Victor said 1:31AM on 6-17-2008
I've hit 2mbps on the Tilt and the Option GT max (both a PC card I have for my work computer and the expresscard I have for my MBP). It's not a network issue...it's a software or hardware issue on the iphone.
Bender Bending Rodriguez said 1:40AM on 6-17-2008
No Victor, it's not a software or HW issue. It's the average 3G that AT&T estimates one will obtain. The reported—and most likely used—Infineon chips used in the 3G iPhone is capable of 7.2Mbps/384Mbps. It's HSDPA.
Again, that is AT&T's average assumed speed. In some places and at some times it will be higher, other times it will be slower.
PC cards will have a higher average throughput as the devices can process the data faster. The iPhone's processing ability also plays a part. For instance, it has 802.11g, which has a maximum theoretical throughput of 54Mbps, but you won't get that. You also won't get anywhere what you can can get on a $400 HP notebook.
Victor said 11:53AM on 6-17-2008
HSDPA only? UGH. Another iPhone mis-step. Steve jobs should just lay down his ego and talk to qualcomm about some real 3G chips.
tukan said 5:48PM on 6-16-2008
I read abt this on 9to5 today, and according to Gizmodo (yeah, I know, double-referencing ;) http://gizmodo.com/5015307/giz-explains-what-you-didnt-know-about-the-iphones-3g-and-gps all smartphones are essentially 'capped' (although they don't officially call this a cap) to 1.4 Mbps, it's just that for all other phones they list maximum speeed according to manufacturer, while in iPhone they give actual available value.
BTW what's the speed of HSDPA in o2 in UK? I hope they're not capping it...
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Tony said 5:55PM on 6-16-2008
In April O2 were caught capping HSPDA at 128kbps.
No that's not a typo. They capped it lower than EDGE.
O2 really, really, suck. They could seriously damage the reputation of the iphone in the UK if they start tricks like that - mind you, they have the slowest network anyway (1.8Mbps compared to 3.6 and 7.2 for everyone else) and by far the worst coverage (described as 'non existant' outside major cities).
David Chartier said 5:54PM on 6-16-2008
I think Gizmodo already looked into this issue and got an official comment from an AT&T spokesperson. Some devices get a 3G download rate "cap" (although they were hesitant to use the term) because faster speeds burn through the battery at faster rates.
It's simply a matter of balancing battery life with performance speeds, 'tis all.
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JohnPQ said 7:16PM on 6-16-2008
I wouldn't doubt that MacNN pulled the story from Gizmodo. They are pretty crappy that way.
kleinias said 3:29AM on 6-17-2008
So at&t is capping download speeds on the iPhone to help us conserve battery life? They should go back to the drawing board and come up with something better, I don't think anyone seriously believes this stuff.
Chris said 12:29PM on 6-23-2008
So the battery lasts longer but the page loads are slower. We get more battery life but we spend it waiting. Great.
Joe Sak said 6:05PM on 6-16-2008
Not to mention they're upgrading the GD price while downgrading the speed and features
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Gene Williams said 6:07PM on 6-16-2008
Near T1 speed is limited?
Hard to compare phone plans for US phones on Vz but this is from the Vz website (for their PC card):
"...average download speeds of 600 Kbps – 1.4 Mbps and at average upload speeds of 500 Kbps – 800 Kbps.*"
Also their advertised data plan for the card is 59.99 for 5GB.
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Ethan Sherbondy said 6:30PM on 6-16-2008
Hey there Cory, "tauting" isn't actually a word. Maybe you're looking for toting.
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lex said 6:54PM on 6-16-2008
maybe "touting"?
Hamilton International Productions said 7:03PM on 6-16-2008
I think he meant "touting" which would fit. "tauting" is a George Lucas word, used to describe the tipping of 'tauntans' on the icy moon of Hoth.
John C said 8:11PM on 6-16-2008
I hope that AT&T is going to invest a significant amount of their proceeds towards improving their infrastructure. They do not have the best network in America and they are the weak link in this iphone partnership. If they do, then the future will be truly awesome.
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Camperton said 7:28PM on 6-16-2008
How is this a problem? My adsl connection at home isn't much faster than that.
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