Because 5G is not fully built out, speeds are about the same as 4G

[Z3Dreamer]

As part of a switch to a new MVNO that uses the Verizon network, I purchased a new 5G phone. Using wifi, I can get speeds of 300 Mbps or more. On a recent trip I drove through some major cities but could not get any speeds greater than 30 Mbps.

I understand that the part of my phone that uses Wifi is different than the part that uses cellular networks.

So, looking this up, I find that since 5G networks are not fully built out, speeds in many places are not what is being promoted. "Download a movie in seconds."

Anyone achieving 1 to 10 Gbps speeds?

I understand that this is a first world problem. At least I have heat and food.

 

[DayDreaming]

I've never checked the download speed on my 5G phone because honestly, 2G was fast enough for what I use my phone for.

 

[braumeister]

The super fast 5G speeds you see advertised are normally measured right next to a 5G tower.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I ignore what cell providers SAY I should get and just enjoy what I actually do get. There are so many factors that can decrease the speeds, it's not worth a hassle to worry about it. I just buy a new phone every few years to stay near the newest technology. I very rarely am frustrated by my phone doing things too slow.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

I've never checked the download speed on my 5G phone because honestly, 2G was fast enough for what I use my phone for.

I agree. I was just back-testing, because when I switched providers, I could not bring my phone. I had to buy a new phone, but it was going to be worth it, because I was going to have blazing speeds. NOT.

 

[COcheesehead]

Travel really shows the warts of cell phones. On a recent western road trip we rarely had full 5g.

 

[disneysteve]

I very rarely am frustrated by my phone doing things too slow.

Same here. I’m not sure what you need to be doing on your phone to notice the difference but clearly nothing that I do. I do everything up to and including streaming Netflix and other video and have never had an issue with speed.

 

[audreyh1]

Travel really shows the warts of cell phones. On a recent western road trip we rarely had full 5g.

Interesting. On our road trip up to northern CO we often had 5G. After getting a 5G capable phone overall my cellphone reception and performance is greatly improved.

 

[steelyman]

I thought the major carriers have differences in the spectrum available that would carry over to the MVNO using them. I use AT&T through Consumer Cellular in central NC. Although the phone (2022 iPhone SE) displays 5G, the speed achieved is not as impressive as marketing would have you believe.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/5g-sub-6-vs-mmwave/

 

[COcheesehead]

Interesting. On our road trip up to northern CO we often had 5G. After getting a 5G capable phone overall my cellphone reception and performance is greatly improved.

Colorado is not a problem. Rural NV, AZ and CA are.

 

[COcheesehead]

Same here. I’m not sure what you need to be doing on your phone to notice the difference but clearly nothing that I do. I do everything up to and including streaming Netflix and other video and have never had an issue with speed.

Just getting emails and making calls.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I thought the major carriers have differences in the spectrum available that would carry over to the MVNO using them. I use AT&T through Consumer Cellular in central NC. Although the phone (2022 iPhone SE) displays 5G, the speed achieved is not as impressive as marketing would have you believe.

https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/5g-sub-6-vs-mmwave/

I don't think MVNO customers necessarily provide the same speed as the major network provider's network they run on. The major provider may intentionally throttle down the speeds to the MVNO customers so that the MVNO networks don't match their own -- thus trying to keep their own customers from converting to the MVNO.

 

[audreyh1]

Colorado is not a problem. Rural NV, AZ and CA are.

OK, I haven’t driven there. I assume it’s just the old same-old then about rural areas and spotty cellphone coverage.

The car still uses an LTE connection. It uses AT&T. My 5G capable cellphone uses T-mobile. Between the two of them we usually have something. The car is very good at buffering navigation data.

 

[ERD50]

.... Using wifi, I can get speeds of 300 Mbps or more. On a recent trip I drove through some major cities but could not get any speeds greater than 30 Mbps.

.....

Anyone achieving 1 to 10 Gbps speeds?

I understand that this is a first world problem. At least I have heat and food.

I'm curious - what is "the problem" (first world or other)?

Do you realize that 30 Mbps is TWICE the speed needed for 4K/Ultra HD (UHD)?

Is your phone screen 4K? Could you even tell on a small screen?

Even using it as a hot spot, you would probably be able to feed 3 or 4 High Def 1080p screens at the same time. What in the world would you do with 1Gbps on a phone?

https://help.netflix.com/en/node/306

Recommended megabits per second

High definition (HD) 720p: 3 Mbps

Full high definition (FHD) 1080p: 5 Mbps

4K/Ultra HD (UHD) 4K: 15 Mbps

Too many times, people get fixated on a number, w/o putting that number into context. So, what is "the problem"?

(PS, out of curiosity, I just tested speeds on my LTE phone, ~ 44 Mbps down, 11 up, 12 msec ping - and BTW, ping times may be far more important than DL speeds, depending)

-ERD50

 

[Z3Dreamer]

I'm curious - what is "the problem" (first world or other)?

Do you realize that 30 Mbps is TWICE the speed needed for 4K/Ultra HD (UHD)?

Is your phone screen 4K? Could you even tell on a small screen?

Even using it as a hot spot, you would probably be able to feed 3 or 4 High Def 1080p screens at the same time. What in the world would you do with 1Gbps on a phone?

https://help.netflix.com/en/node/306




Too many times, people get fixated on a number, w/o putting that number into context. So, what is "the problem"?

(PS, out of curiosity, I just tested speeds on my LTE phone, ~ 44 Mbps down, 11 up, 12 msec ping - and BTW, ping times may be far more important than DL speeds, depending)

-ERD50

OP here. No problem. I was just hoping to have a good conversation on whether the advertised speeds were being achieved. DW was driving and I had nothing to do, so I thought I would test the speeds.

Many times in life we check that grocery receipt or restaurant bill or arrival time in the airport to see if we are getting what we paid for. Will it bankrupt us if we paid $2.99 vs $1.99 for that product? No. Will we still get to our destination if the plane is an hour late? Yes.

I agree with all of your technical data, but will not be answering your five questions. My last two sentences in the original post were an attempt to prevent replies such as yours. I am sorry that I have failed.

 

[Ian S]

Just tested my T-Mobile Galaxy s-21+5G phone here in the Sedona area which I think qualifies as rural Arizona. Download speed of 341 Mbps. Network type identified as 5GUC Our old 4GLTE phones couldn't get much more than 60-70 Mbps.

 

[audreyh1]

Just tested my T-Mobile Galaxy s-21+5G phone here in the Sedona area which I think qualifies as rural Arizona. Download speed of 341 Mbps. Network type identified as 5GUC Our old 4GLTE phones couldn't get much more than 60-70 Mbps.

It doesn’t count as rural because even smaller cities usually have a cell tower. And the fact that it has 5GUC illustrates that.

I think he means really out in the boonies.

 

[cathy63]

Just tested my T-Mobile Galaxy s-21+5G phone here in the Sedona area which I think qualifies as rural Arizona. Download speed of 341 Mbps. Network type identified as 5GUC Our old 4GLTE phones couldn't get much more than 60-70 Mbps.

If you drive from Sedona to Page, then over to Monument Valley and Mesa Verde NP, how's the 5G then? That's the rural area we had the least cell service in on our last road trip. Sedona is positively urban compared to most of the Navajo Nation.

 

[explanade]

I got almost 1 Gb down and about 200-300 Mbps up a few days ago. It was at a park about 1/2 mile from my house.

I used it to download movies.

I used up 8 GB in like 20-30 minutes.

Unfortunately, get in my house and the speed is inconsistent, often below 10 Mbps and often drops to LTE.

Go outside my house and walk 30 feet and it's hundreds of Mbps.