4G, 5G and now 6G are worthless if cell providers don’t provide enough bandwidth to the towers. The range also keeps decreasing as the generations increase, so now there are these big gaps that 3G used to cover.
In my area, 5G is slower than 4G and both have lower signal and slower speeds than 3G used to have. I need a dual SIM phone and to constantly switch my phone between AT&T and T-Mobile, and both are crap. I only use about 1GB in total too. I miss 3G speeds, coverage, and competition.
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I haven’t even bought a 5G phone yet. My carrier keeps threatening to cut 4G coverage in various areas, and has already axed 3G entirely, rendering large swathes of otherwise perfectly functional devices useless. So far my 4G Moto Z still works. For now.
At this point my conspiracy opinion that the constant “generation” changes are mostly to just force people to buy/lease new phones and devices. Even pokey old 4G has always been more than fast enough for all of my mobile internet activities. Hell, even 3G was.
I have no less than four otherwise flawlessly functional phones in a desk drawer that just won’t work with my cell carrier because they’ve either turned off 3G or discontinued the specific 4G bands those devices need.
lyam23@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I live in a medium size city with extensive Verizon coverage. 5g here is still dogshit. It’s always slower than LTE and even though towers are everywhere, my phone is constantly switching back and forth.
fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.world 10 months ago
mmwave 5g or “5g”? On T-Mobile near me I get anywhere from 200Mbps down to over gigabit down depending on the location.
A few areas are the shitty 5g that’s essentially 4g+. But most areas around me have really good coverage with pretty insane speeds.
iopq@lemmy.world 10 months ago
What percentage of people use 3g only phones? If it’s 1%, does it make sense to keep those services running just for those people?
dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 10 months ago
It’s not necessarily phones. It’s trackers, monitoring devices, laptops, access points, and tablets that all run over 3G bands.
AA5B@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Older Kindles. Cars
bamboo@lemm.ee 10 months ago
In the US almost none, the networks are being shut down.
user224@lemmy.sdf.org 10 months ago
It’s not just for that. 3G isn’t that overloaded. In my area I get 1-3Mbps on 4G LTE but around 20Mbps on 3G HSPA+.
Pregnenolone@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I totally agree with you that generation changes are either currently or going to be used as a form of planned obsolescence. I reckon that within 10 years or so we’ll have sub generation types (things 6.5G) that will force people to buy new devices.
Aux@lemmy.world 10 months ago
As a person living in a densely populated city of London, I don’t want 6G, I need 10G and I need it yesterday. There’s no conspiracy, there’s an obvious and objective reality.
MonkderZweite@feddit.ch 10 months ago
5G was made for your usecase…
LogicalDrivel@sopuli.xyz 10 months ago
I was forced to upgrade since i was still rocking a 3g phone and my area switched to 5g. The phone company gave me a free Pixel6 since it wasnt my choice to upgrade. Maybe if you hold out long enough you’ll just get a free upgrade. Though it was a double edge sword, since they tried to up my monthly bill since i was “upgraded” to “premium data”. I had to fight that and still ended up paying a few bucks more than previously, but better than what they tried to charge me.