Is 4G a mythor we really making connections with 4G speeds?

Not so long ago, PC makers created the megahertz myth. They wanted people to believe that clock speed of the processor was responsible for the responsiveness of the system, whereas the design of the system is as much important as the clock speed. We have fallen to another myth in the same way. This myth is the megapixel myth that the more number of megapixels a camera has, better digital photo is clicked.
Thankfully the tech industry has stopped terming the dark terminology of its statistics. Apple can be given the whole credit for this too. It started with the iPod and continued with the iPhone and iPad. It avoided maintaining any tech stats in the market. Rather than telling you of the technical stats of the device, they focus on telling the quality of the device. They just tell you that it is better than its previous version rather than telling the RAM of the gadget or the memory it has. Even when Apple doesn’t mention the stats, it explains the features in a way that humans understand. The first iPod gave you 1000 songs in your pocket, not any 5GB memory for you mp3s.
Apple hasn’t explained every tech spec, but still advertizes the megapixel quality of its gadgets. And even worst thing is its capability of 4G: the most consumer-unfriendly spec in all technologies. This explains the theoretical wireless data speed of the gadget, rather than telling you how fast you can surf web from it. 3G and 4G are the same and if someone sells you things mentioning 4G, ten he is making you fool for sure.
The incapability of 4G was enlightened last week when people upgraded latest iPhone 4S OS and found that their network indicators started showing 4G rather than 3G, for people who use AT&T’s network, whereas Verizon users didn’t see such change. All that was changed was the AT&T’s marketing, not the internet accessing speed of your gadgets. Early last year, AT&T started branding its 3G network as new fresh 4G network overnight.
AT&T is not completely to be blamed, because technically according to the distinctions set by the world’s standard bodies, 3G networks is in fact a rival to 4G network. AT&T’s version of iPhone 4S connects to internet via HSPA+, which is an improvement to the third generation of wireless networks. 4G uses LTE technology for the same purpose. HSPA+ will offer nearly 168 megabits per second whereas LTE used by 4G offers only 150 megabits per second. It is much better to buy faster HSPA+ with lower G rather than going for a slower LTE with higher G. This will let you achieve download speed up to 5 to 12 mbps.
LTE networks are expensive and difficult to install also. T-Mobile also focuses on improving 3G rather than building LTE capabilities for 4G, and advertised to achieve better speeds than LTE. It was criticized a lot too. International Telecommunications Union decided that HSPA+ could be referred to as 4G. This will prove really good for AT&T as they have a smaller LTE network than Verizon and a larger HSPA+ network than Verizon too. This will take AT&T ahead of Verizon in the market. When a spokeswoman of Verizon was asked the same thing, she didn’t dispute to the above mentioned comments by Siegel. If you are not under LTE technology and you want high seed, then AT&T’s HSPA+ is a better option.
But still the argument is not clear with the problem with the 4G term. The speeds you get on your device depend on a lot of factors other than the protocol your network uses. According to a survey, people got varying speeds ranging from 0.18 mbps to 3 mbps. Sometimes Verizon iPhones were faster, even though AT&T’s protocol is faster. Clearly, actual speeds are far much lesser than the advertised speeds.
This comes with a bottom line, that mobile phones must come with a label: “BEWARE: you will never get what promised”, despite of the cell carriers attached to them.