WEBVTT - Which 4G services are available in the U.S. today?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brainstoff from how Stuff Works dot com where

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<v Speaker 1>smart Happens him Marshall Brain with today's question what types

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<v Speaker 1>of four G phone service are available in the United

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<v Speaker 1>States today? If you have a smart phone, you may

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<v Speaker 1>be interested in four G service for the data that

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<v Speaker 1>comes into your phone. Four G stands for fourth generation

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<v Speaker 1>and there are currently three systems in the United States

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<v Speaker 1>that are advertising for G service. Sprint claimed the title

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<v Speaker 1>of the first four G network in the United States

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<v Speaker 1>when it deployed its HTC EVO four G phone on

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<v Speaker 1>its y max network earlier in two thousand ten. Sprint

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<v Speaker 1>has y Max in about thirty cities in the United

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<v Speaker 1>States at the moment. With y Max, you received data

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<v Speaker 1>at a rate of between three and six megabits per

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<v Speaker 1>second when ATA is coming into your phone. The second

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<v Speaker 1>network into the marketplace is t Mobiles hsp A plus network.

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<v Speaker 1>Prior to this, hsp A plus has not been officially

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<v Speaker 1>considered to be four G, so this is a rebranding

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<v Speaker 1>to some extent, but the rebranding may be warranted because

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<v Speaker 1>t mobiles hsp A plus network is slightly faster than

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<v Speaker 1>sprints Ymax network in many cases, but it's only slightly faster,

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<v Speaker 1>it's still operating in the same kind of three to

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<v Speaker 1>six megabits per second range as the y MAX network is.

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<v Speaker 1>On the plus side, hs P A Plus is offered

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<v Speaker 1>in about twice as many cities as y MAX is

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<v Speaker 1>offered in. And then there's Verizon, which is deploying its

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<v Speaker 1>LTE network. This should be a big deal because LTE

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<v Speaker 1>has the potential to be ten times faster than either

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<v Speaker 1>ymax or hsp A Plus, and it could be available

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<v Speaker 1>in a lot more cities. Now here's the funny thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Up until recently, four G meant a hundred megabits per

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<v Speaker 1>set can or more. Verizon might brush up against that

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<v Speaker 1>if LTE pans out the way they say it well,

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<v Speaker 1>but even so, it will not be there all the time.

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<v Speaker 1>So in the United States we aren't actually getting what

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<v Speaker 1>used to be called for G. We're just getting something

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<v Speaker 1>better than three G. It might be years before we

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<v Speaker 1>see a hundred megabits per second on our phones, or

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<v Speaker 1>even in our homes for that matter, here in the

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<v Speaker 1>United States. In other parts of the world, it's a

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