5g

[KevinCa_1995153]

What speed should I get on a 5g phone.  I have done several tests and can't get over 40mbs download speed . I'm using a Samsung galaxy a52 5g phone . 

[JJP2]

There is no set speed on any phone.

Its not so much the phone that matters, although it obviously plays a part.

Major factors are how far away from a Three mast you are, which impacts quality of signal, etc, does the frequency bands within the A52 work well with Smarty, etc. there are various factors involved. 

Other factors are where you use your phone, do you live in a house, flat, high rise tower block, etc. which can all impact the quality of the signal you receive. 

Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed speed of “ X “ mbps in any situation. 

[MSF]

@KevinCa_1995153  This will depend upon a load of factors, including.

How far from a mast you are.

The building properties if you are inside.

Level of congestion on the network when you are trying to use it.

Are you allowing the phone to choose whether it uses 5G or 4G - it may be better on the latter at some times.

[jassingh]

There was an article relating to speeds from Smarty here: https://help.smarty.co.uk/en/articles/5744896-mobile-and-broadband-estimated-maximum-speeds? however in the grand scheme of things this doesn't really mean anything. The numbers often represent what the technology could be capable of as opposed to what you will actually get.

Speeds will vary wildly depending on location, terrain, weather, time of day, device, if the mast uses CA, how far you are from the mast and general congestion on the infra etc (its the same for all networks).

What you receive also depends on device - some phones can combine frequencies together to increase throughput. The 5G predominantly in use in the UK (5G-NSA) is probably what I would say 'stage 1' in that it still uses the LTE architecture .. so much of what we receive is dependent on this backbone being fast and reliable. I think over time this (connectivity + speed) will get better and better. 

[JJP2]

Good points @jassingh especially the last paragraph, the 5G-NSA (Non Stand Alone) that uses 4G / LTE here in the UK hits home that we really don’t have standalone 5G here yet, unfortunately.

[jassingh]

@JJP2 Yup. The only network in the UK that is actually using 5G-SA in a very small trial capacity is Vodafone with their '5G Ultra' and is offered to select customers who have compatible devices only (currently S21 and S22 only) with limited rollout in a few locations. I assume they just connect customers to the network that has the core upgraded. Probs with this talk of the merger between Three and Vodafone, it could help accelerate SA rollout in general?

Moreover, I think (when the time comes) we'd also need phones supporting 'mmwave' (more top end frequencies, already common in the US) technology in addition to Sub6 to get those true top end speeds.

[JJP2]

Spot on @jassingh 

When I was in Phoenix last month, I bought the US version of the iPhone 13 mini, with mmWave capability, and the speeds on “US Mobile” , an MVNO, on Verizon, were great. (US Mobile also offer connectivity with T Mobile, but when you sign up, you have to choose between their black SIM (Verizon) or white SIM (T-Mobile) 

Could be a game changer if / when we get the technology here. 

Interestingly, “US Mobile” now sponsor Barnsley FC over here, so, I presume they will plan to set up in the UK at some point, otherwise I can’t see why they would sponsor a UK based football / soccer club.