
Study gives 4G data performance high marks
The performance improvement of 4G is punctuated by a more than 1,000 percent increase in download speed on 4G smartphones on the Sprint 4G network compared to the same carrier’s 3G network, the study found.
Web pages load significantly faster on the 4G devices compared to 3G devices, with Sprint 4G on average taking one third of the time to load a page compared to Sprint 3G, the study found. T-Mobile 4G smartphones take 46 percent of the time to load a page compared to T-Mobile 3G, according to the study. Metrico attributed the fact that T-Mobile’s 4G performance advantage over 3G is not as pronounced as Sprint’s to the fact that T-Mobile 3G devices offered higher performance to begin with.
The T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 4G had the best average data download speed while stationary among the devices tested, with an average of 6.154 Mbps—25 percent above the average for all devices—and a maximum of 13.818 Mbps, the study found.
The T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S 4G also leads in download reliability, 9 percent more reliable than the T-Mobile myTouch 4G and 11 percent more reliable than the T-Mobile G2, according to the study.
Meanwhile, the Sprint HTC EVO Shift had the best data download speed while moving among the devices tested, with an average of 5.699 Mbps—27 percent above the average for all devices—and a maximum of 11.188 Mbps, the study found. It was also second in stationary downloads (5.031 Mbps average, 11.004 Mbps maximum), according to the study.
The Sprint Samsung Epic outperforms the Sprint HTC EVO as well as its successor the EVO Shift on web page load times, the study found.
The HTC EVO Shift outperforms the HTC EVO and Samsung Epic on mean download speed in both mobile and stationary scenarios, according to the study.
The HTC EVO Shift, HTC EVO and Samsung Epic show comparable upload speeds in both mobile and stationary scenarios, according to the study.
The Samsung Galaxy S 4G, Google G2 and T-Mobile myTouch4G showed comparable upload speeds in both mobile and stationary scenarios, according to the study. The Samsung Galaxy S 4G also showed higher mobile download reliability than the MyTouch4G and the G2., while stationary reliability was comparable between all three devices, according to the study. .
To conduct the study, Metrico said it procured all smartphones advertised as 4G capable through consumer channels and subjected them to thousands of live network tests in four markets: New York, Baltimore-Washington, Dallas and Seattle. During the evaluation period, only Sprint and T-Mobile were determined to offer smartphones fulfilling the criteria for evaluation, Metrico said.
AT&T announced Sunday (March 20) a deal to buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion. If the acquisition is cleared by regulators it would create the largest cellular carrier in the country.
