AT&T 4G LTE expands yesterday (and today)
You may have heard that yesterday (and today) several new markets had the switch flipped on for 4G LTE.
I was not lucky enough to be in one of those markets, though I am close and they have promised it by the end of the year (we’ll see, fingers crossed).
If, however, you live in:
Louisville, KY
Milwaukee, WI
Tacoma, WA
York, PA
Orlando, FL
Annapolis, MD
Denver, CO
Provo, UT
Dallas, TX
or today… Twin Cities, MN
You now have access the 4G LTE data network.
I have to say, about a month ago I was traveling and ended up in two cities that had 4G LTE. I was blown away by how fast web pages and other data loaded. I was lucky enough to be grandfathered into unlimited 4G data and cannot wait for the network to go live in my city.
AT&T has announced their plans to have 4G LTE in “more than 100 markets” by the end of 2012. There website claims 88 active markets today. That means at least 13 more (including mine) should come online sometime in the next 45 days.
If you have a 4G device and can take advantage of these speeds, sound off in the comments below about the improvements/issues you have seen.
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OK, I can visit my family in Dallas now! 🙂
Really Provo UT got it? Sigh, no love for northern Utah like usual.
I’m confused.
I’m an ATT customer with a Galaxy Note. At my house, I get 4G. Not LTE, but “HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul”. When I run SpeedTest, I consistently get between 9 and 12Mbps down and a little over 1Mbps up.
A few weeks ago, I was in a 4G LTE area (my phone said so) with all the bars. When I ran SpeedTest a couple of times, I got an average of 7 down and 10 up.
In both locations, SpeedTest chose the same server as the nearest, which is true.
Why would my LTE speeds be so unimpressive?
Two things: Orlando already had LTE (been using it since April), but I have noticed the past week that my phone is using about 1% less per hour while idle (typically 4-5%, now closer to 3% will all the stuff I have running) which probably means stronger signal. Will have to run some tests.
And, while LTE has some fantastic throughput, when you are actively using it, it drains you battery crazy fast. So be careful what you wish for. Until we get Plutonium charging cells, or the LTE radio can somehow meter itself, so it only uses 10% of its capability to stream music for example, you are going to need to be close to a plug while using it for any extended period.