topic Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G? in Get Support

Is this plan 3G or 4G?

Catalyst — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 15:18:45 GMT

"4.5 GB Data at 3G speed⁴"

In footnote 4 it says:

"4 - Plans with 4G LTE data can access maximum LTE download speeds (manufacturer rated at up to 900 Mbps; expected average speeds 12-250 Mbps). Plans with 3G data may reach download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, with the coverage and reliability of the LTE network."

I don't see anywhere explained whether this is really a 3G and 4G plan or only a 3G plan, and how does one aquire 4G access; I don't see 4G option as a purchase or an add-on option.

So what "G" is really included in this plan?

Thanks!

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

shep22 — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:38:19 GMT

@Catalyst hi it is 3g lte that is throttled

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

computergeek541 — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:36:25 GMT

@Catalyst wrote:
In this plan it says:
"4.5 GB Data at 3G speed⁴"
In footnote 4 it says:
"4 - Plans with 4G LTE data can access maximum LTE download speeds (manufacturer rated at up to 900 Mbps; expected average speeds 12-250 Mbps). Plans with 3G data may reach download speeds of up to 3 Mbps, with the coverage and reliability of the LTE network."

I don't see anywhere explained whether this is really a 3G and 4G plan or only a 3G plan, and how does one aquire 4G access; I don't see 4G option as a purchase or an add-on option.

So what "G" is really included in this plan?

Thanks!

Your plan includes of 3Mbps while connected to the LTE network. The footnote about LTE plans does not apply to you.

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

Catalyst — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:39:39 GMT

So a difference between PM and Telus is that I should get faster 4G downloads with Telus because they don't limit the speed.

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

Luddite — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:42:01 GMT

@Catalyst wrote:
So a difference between PM and Telus is that I should get faster 4G downloads with Telus because they don't limit the speed.

Yes

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

gblackma — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:42:20 GMT

Exactly @Catalyst . Welcome to PM.

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

RossN — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:43:56 GMT

@Catalyst hello although it is "3g" I wouldn't get to hung up on it since everything works just fine I have had a 4g plans that were not so great at certain times when it was busy

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

Staliger — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:43:38 GMT

@Catalyst Yes, and a proper customer service, and more expensive plans😅

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

hairbag1 — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 21:44:46 GMT

@Catalyst wrote:
So a difference between PM and Telus is that I should get faster 4G downloads with Telus because they don't limit the speed.

There's also a cost difference as well.

I used to insist on having 4G data too. I'm glad I tried the 3G at PM...I don't do alot of streaming of HD movies. The 3G is more than sufficient for me and cheaper too. You'd have to determine what's best for your lifestyle though.

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

Naepalm — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 22:38:24 GMT

I think this is already answered but it's 3G that's been slowed.

Hope that helps.

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 23:40:28 GMT

@Naepalm wrote:
I think this is already answered but it's 3G that's been slowed.

Hope that helps.

It doesn't. 🙂 It's 4G LTE throttled down to 3G-like speeds. ie. 3Mbps. The name that likes to be thrown around here is LTE-Lite.

You could also force HSDPA (3G) on your phone and get full 3G. Apparently there's a latency thing with 3G.

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

gblackma — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 00:31:43 GMT

@computergeek541 is Public Mobiles data 4g LTE throttled to 3 mbps as @Anonymous says, that works on a 3g network because of latency or is it unthrottled 3g? Could you please weight in here too @sheytoon , @Nezgar and @Korth . Thanks.

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

sheytoon — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 00:37:17 GMT

LTE is throttled to 3.008 Mbps. See here: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Speed-limit-on-3G-plans/td-p/343133

3G is unthrottled, and under ideal conditions you might be able to reach 17 Mbps with single carrier (B2 or B5) or 35 Mbps with dual carrier (B2 only, depending on the market).

With a good signal, the difference in latency between 3G and LTE is very small. At cell edge, LTE latency should be noticeably better.

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

diyaa — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 01:02:16 GMT

It says that it is 4G but in fact the bandwidth is limited by publicmobile.

if the plan says 3G then you are not getting 3G. it is just the type of Telecommunication tower that you are connected to and the speed your phone receives from that tower but if you do a speed test on https://fast.com/ you would find that your internet speed is nowhere near 900 Mbps.

Note that measuring bandwidth will take from your data plan since it sends some data to the netflix server to measure your internet speed limit.

best regards,

Diyaa

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

computergeek541 — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 01:22:54 GMT

@gblackma wrote:
@computergeek541 is Public Mobiles data 4g LTE throttled to 3 mbps as @Anonymous says, that works on a 3g network because of latency or is it unthrottled 3g? Could you please weight in here too @sheytoon , @Nezgar and @Korth . Thanks.

There are some customers with older plans that do not have any speed restrictions on the LTE network.

Currently offered plans, with the exception of the data only plan are limited to a speed of 3Mbps if the customer is connected to the LTE network. The HSPA+ network is actually capable of speeds much faster the 3Mbps.

Both the LTE and HSPA+ networks are used for data.

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

Korth — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 02:01:26 GMT

@gblackma

Yes, PM's "3G" is actually is 4G-based data service which is throttled by the network to 3Mbps.

Phone settings can force actual 3G connection. Not artificially throttled but also not as advanced as 4G. @sheytoon offers some maximum 3G speeds in ideal conditions, but actual 3G speeds are probably slower, and in some (a growing number of) areas native 3G not even approach or sustain 3Mbps.

4G at 3Mbps is overkill for mobile browsing and social media and audio streaming, adequate for 720/30fps or 1080/24fps video streaming. (Telus network also has "Wireless Video Optimization" which limits video to the max display resolution supported/reported by the device. It tends to substantially reduce data size of video frames, but also imposes some lossy compression artifacts. End-users have no choice, the feature is embedded in the network. Anyhow, it works quite fine with 3Mbps bandwidth.)

3G-based latencies are much worse than 4G-based latencies all across the board. Delayed network requests. Lightning page download speed doesn't help if page download request forces a half-minute wait every click, so "faster" 3G not always a better choice. 4G-based "3G" is much more responsive than 3G-based 3G.

PM does offer a $30 Data-only plan which is uncapped 4G. Data add-ons attached to that plan are also uncapped 4G. This is the only 4G option PM offers to customers at this time.

PM used to offer both 3G plans and 4G plans (and a plan building calculator to buy either option). Customers with "grandfathered" 4G legacy plans still get uncapped 4G indefinitely (until they change plans, they let their account terminate, or PM decides to discontinue the legacy).

It takes a little while - two or three business days - for PM's 3Mbps cap to be consistently imposed. Customers who activate new data plans and immediately start running speedtests can see some impressive numbers and burn through their GB very quickly, but this is not nominally part of the plan.

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

sheytoon — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 02:56:32 GMT

@Korth wrote:
3G-based latencies are much worse than 4G-based latencies all across the board. Delayed network requests.

Latency seems fine when the 3G signal is good...

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 03:13:31 GMT

Gotta like them data add-ons on ye ol' $10 plan thank you very much 🙂

Re: Is this plan 3G or 4G?

ryanrudolf — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 12:00:39 GMT

It is LTE, but throttled to 3G speeds.