3G, 4G, 4G LTE, and 5G. All of these are terms associated with network connectivity. As you may have noticed, these alphabets appear right next to the signal bar on your home screen. But what is the difference between them? First thing first, let’s give clarification to what the “G” means. It simply stands for “Generation” of the mobile network technology you are using.
Things get better and clearer with each generation of mobile network technology introduced, in terms of communication and speed. In this case, the 5G network, which is the newest, is better in call quality and improved data speed.
In this article, we will outline the key difference between 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, and 5G mobile network technologies, in the areas of speed, latency, and coverage, so you can make an educated decision on your next smartphone purchase.
To casual observers who think they are all the same, we’ll begin by explaining how they differ in terms of speed.
Network Speeds
Internet speed is an important factor to consider when comparing these network technologies. It is probably the benchmark a lot of us look at when determining which mobile network is actually better. So today, we'll be comparing their real-world performance versus theoretical performance.The difference between these two is that real-world performance or speeds are those you can expect to get when using your phone on a real mobile network on a daily basis. Meanwhile, theoretical top speeds are those which are obtainable in a laboratory environment under perfect conditions.
In benchmarking their performance, we'll focus on download and upload speeds.
Download speeds refer to the rate at which mobile data is transferred from the internet to your mobile devices, for example, when downloading videos. Meanwhile, upload speeds refer to the rate that mobile data is transferred from your mobile devices to the internet e.g. when uploading a video to YouTube.
Real World Network Speeds
Generation
|
Download Speed
|
Upload Speed
|
3G
|
3 Mbps
|
0.4 Mbps
|
4G
|
20 Mbps
|
10 Mbps
|
4G LTE Advanced
|
42Mbps
|
10 Mbps
|
5G
|
20 Gbps
|
10 Gbps
|
Theoretical Maximum Network Speeds
Generation
|
Download Speed
|
Upload Speed
|
3G
|
7.2 Mbps
|
2 Mbps
|
4G
|
150 Mbps
|
50 Mbps
|
4G LTE Advanced
|
300 Mbps
|
150 Mbps
|
5G
|
1 TGbps
|
1 Tbps
|
That said; let’s now compare how long it might take you to download movies and mobile applications on those different kinds of mobile networks using real-world speeds.
Video Download Time
Network Generation
|
Download Time
|
3G
|
1 hour, 8 minutes
|
4G
|
40 minutes
|
4G LTE Advanced
|
27 minutes
|
5G
|
35 seconds
|
App Download Time
Network Generation
|
Download Time
|
3G
|
45 seconds-1 minute
|
4G
|
5-8 seconds
|
4G LTE Advanced
|
2-5 seconds
|
5G
|
< 1 second
|
It’s not just the throughput when comparing these mobile networks. Another major area that comes to mind when making a comparison is latency. Latency refers to the measurement of time between when the cell tower sends packet data and when the destination device (your mobile device) receives the requested data. Put simply, it means how long it takes when you click on something on a website.
The lower the latency or milliseconds, the better the network performance. Hence, the comparison table below shows which mobile network is faster.
Network Latency
Network Generation
|
Latency (milliseconds)
|
3G
|
100-500ms
|
4G
|
50-100ms
|
4G LTE Advanced
|
10-50ms
|
5G
|
1-10ms
|
From the foregoing, we can clearly see that the 5G network has low latency when compared with its predecessors. 5G decreased latency opens the door to innovations in the usage of mobile data in our everyday life. For example, one key area where minimum latency can make an impact is on self-driving cars, which needs to respond immediately to inputs and changes in the situation.
Factors that affect internet speed
It is worthy of note that there are some factors that can make a significant impact on the download and upload speed of photos and video. While the 5G network is faster, all mobile networks speeds can be affected by the following:- Number of users sharing your network at any given time;
- The proximity of your device to a phone tower;
- Number of cell phone towers present in your location
- The compatibility of your mobile device processor.
