During the Spring Festival, many friends are asking if it's time to change 4G. My point of view is, if you can, why don't you immediately replace the 4G? Here are n reasons for small edition of Sihai network.
1、 It is a fact that 4G is faster than any other 3G network.
I was lucky enough to participate in the internal test of TD-LTE network card in Guangzhou more than a year ago. Recently, I used LTE mobile phone for another two months. It's no exaggeration to say that the mobile Internet experience brought by 4G is unprecedented. I have experienced mobile TD-SCDMA and Unicom WCDMA before. Although they are much faster than edge (2.5G) and GPRS (2G), they still have an order of magnitude difference compared with TD-LTE. The screenshot interface of 360 speed measurement software test is as follows:
More vividly, when using 4G to watch HD video using apps like iqiyi, there is almost no buffer, and the progress bar can realize "just drag and see". My family has installed the 10m broadband of China Unicom, and has also covered 4G network. Comparatively speaking, it is faster to use 4G network. In order to save traffic, I will use 4G only at the critical moment of the Spring Festival, such as robbing wechat red packets.
After the issuance of TD-LTE license, each operator has made their own calculations. Only China Mobile has fully supported from the network to the marketing and the terminal, which can be described as the 4G mobilization of the company. China Unicom WCDMA has established its speed, coverage and brand advantages in the 3G era, preferring fdd-lte more. At present, it has not actively followed up TD-LTE, but upgraded the 3G network to 42m in an all-round way, forming the so-called 3.9G network, with the right to take a slow step. Telecom's policies on renting China Mobile 4G network and communicating with grassroots personnel have not yet been implemented.
At present, TD-LTE is the fastest network system when the second wave 4G license has not been issued. Waiting for other systems, I don't know the age of the monkey.
2、 Several problems of TD-LTE: coverage, tariff and delay
At present, the wait-and-see attitude towards TD-LTE mainly involves the following issues: coverage, tariff and delay.
1. Cover faster than you expected
In 2011, China Mobile started the construction of TD-LTE test network in six cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Last year, TD-LTE trial business was carried out in 16 cities including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai. So if you're in any of these cities, the coverage problem is minimal. Taking Guangzhou as an example, at present, LTE signals have been found in the main roads, office buildings, hotels, universities, stations and other public places in Tianhe, Yuexiu and other main urban areas. The public data shows that Guangzhou will achieve 4G full coverage by the end of this year.
At last year's China Mobile global partners conference, Xi Guohua said that 100 cities are expected to have 4G business conditions in the middle of this year. At the end of the year, customers in more than 340 cities could enjoy 4G services of China Mobile, accounting for half of the cities with cities. According to the information collected by the author, the 4G in Chongqing, a key town in Southwest China, has been partially covered, which is likely to be put into commercial use after full coverage this summer.
The coverage speed and strength of China Mobile 4G is much faster than that of 3G. Three years after TD-SCDMA licensing, the coverage is still very limited, which is related to China Mobile's "bad card" only as a transitional solution. The maturity and market acceptance of 4G is bound to be not a transitional solution, but the next 'decade network' equivalent to 2G. After gaining the advantage of license plate, China Mobile would like to get out of the shadow of 3G immediately, seize the opportunity, speed up the investment in 4G, speed up 4G coverage, and open the gap with friends.
To put it another way, if your city already has some coverage, there will always be a chance to use 4G. You can never wait for full coverage. There is no full coverage network in the world. If you have 4G business in your city, it means that the coverage can already support commercial use.
2. The tariff is not too expensive and is under control
The rates are slightly different in different cities, but they are not too expensive as a whole. Take Guangdong Mobile as an example. At present, the traffic is 2G in 100 yuan package. Users can choose the combination package of traffic + voice + data. The previous month, in addition to turning off 4G when I had WiFi, I was fully powered at other times, with no overspending in traffic and no significant increase in phone charges.
4G promotion period, some provinces and municipalities operators' promotional policies are also more awesome, such as contract machines. Stay tuned. Guangzhou Mobile once launched the "pre deposit 1000 yuan to iPhone 5S" activity for old customers, but it soon ended. As far as I know, the current contract policy is more sincere. During the Spring Festival, Guangdong Mobile launched a free flow policy for 4G users, which shows that 4G users are still being cared for.
I'm afraid that the traffic is too expensive to consume. I can only start 4G when I need it. This is the case with some friends in Beijing. However, it is a matter of time before the tariff is lowered. Any commodity market will inevitably reduce its price after being scaled up. Operators and enterprises cooperate to "charge traffic backward", and enterprises pay for the traffic, and the "4G traffic management mode" that users use for free is also emerging.
3. There is no legendary exaggeration in delay, everything is getting better
TD-LTE technology implementation, so that there is a longer time delay in the call, press the call for a longer time to hear the ring back tone, some exaggeration is up to 2G times. I use my personal experience to tell you that there is absolutely no double gap. On the contrary, I don't feel the obvious delay. When the gap is too small for users to perceive, the gap can be ignored.
Operators, terminal manufacturers, equipment manufacturers and chip manufacturers are also trying to solve such problems.
I use 4G after the iPhone 5S (1528 China Unicom version) was cracked. At the initial stage, there was an increase in power consumption and unclear call. After the cooperation between apple and China Mobile, the system was upgraded to 7.04 (11b554a), and the operator version was upgraded to 'China Mobile 15.7'. The relevant problems were solved.
Some friends worry that they will become mice when they use the product in the early stage. I think this will happen in the internal test stage, but if your city has entered the 'trial business', the relevant conditions are naturally mature, and someone has made a mouse in front of you.
If you enter the 4G era now and use fewer people, you can feel the fastest network speed. Sooner or later, we will enter the 4G era. Why not?
3、 How can I get into 4G?
If you are from China Mobile, you don't need to change the number. Users of the other two operators want to use China mobile network, so they naturally need to change their numbers. Some operators may launch 4G dedicated number segment, which is not very significant for old users.
All terminals need to be replaced. At present, the star models supporting TD-LTE include iPhone 5S, 5C, Samsung note 2n7108d, HTC one max8088, etc.
Generally, the card needs to be changed. USIM card is widely used in 4G, and some terminals also need to change the card. For example, Nano SIM card is used in 5S, which is different from Mini Sim card in 4S.
Note that the iPhone 5S is divided into the following versions: 1528 (Unicom version), 1533 (Telecom version), 1530 (Hong Kong Version) and 1518 (mobile customization), which can be seen on the back. At present, 1518 and 1530 can fully support China Mobile 2g3g4g network, while 1528 can use China Mobile 2G and 4G network after cracking. Due to the castration of hardware, TD-SCDMA cannot be used after 1528 is cracked. Mobile TD-SCDMA is just like chicken ribs, no need.
If you don't want to change the terminal immediately, it's also a good choice to buy a MiFi with a built-in SIM card or a network card. MiFi can convert the mobile 4G signal into WiFi. It can be seen from the official website of Guangdong Mobile that mobile is about to launch "CPE", just like a router, which can convert mobile 4G signals into WiFi, and the target customers are small and medium-sized enterprises and families.
4G is coming. Compared with 3G, 4G is a great era. It enables people to use the network comparable to optical broadband anytime and anywhere, and solves the 'last mile' problem perfectly. Mobile payment, o2o, mobile e-commerce, mobile social networking, large traffic video applications and even mobile games will enjoy 4G network dividends. It will not be a transitional network like 3G, but a long-term plan for the next decade. Pro: if you use 4G now, you will support the view of mischang, a small editor of Sihai network.