GPRS EDGE 3G HSPA HSPA+ LTE

We often get different kinds of indicators in the status bar (on top) when you browse data through your mobile internet. I listed down the different possible types of indicators.

Starting from first-born to recent trending service 

GSM 

• Global System for Mobile Communications
• 1G, first generation of mobiles
• Primarily used for voice but can be used for accessing internet via GPRS
• Majority of networks work on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz 

G

• Network Type – GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)
• 2G, second generation of mobiles
• We can get maximum speed of 160 Kbps
• It is slow but doesn't consume much of battery

E

• Network Type – EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution)
• It is developed based on GPRS (coding schemes are changed i.e., CS1 to CS4 = MCS1 to MCS9) but it was not famous due to the modulation scheme that was used (8-PSK instead of GMSK) 
• We can get maximum speed of 473.6 Kbps which is more similar to that we get in 3G

3G 

• Network Type – UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System)
• 3G, third generation of mobiles came into existence mainly for the purpose of video calling
• Can get max speed similar to that in EDGE

H

• Network Type – HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) 
• Precisely HSDPA (downlink only)
• Developed on basis of 3G network and can support up to 7.2 Mbps
• HSUPA (uplink only) derives speed up to 5 Mbps 

H+

• Network Type – HSPAP (HSPA Plus/ HSPA+)
• Evolution of HSPA that allows speed up to 21 Mbps 
• It is start to the fourth generation network, 4G devices are compatible to use H+

4G LTE

• Network Type – LTE (Long Term Evolution)
• It is an upgrade to HSPAP (P for Plus), starting phase of 4G technology. 
• It is mostly observed in foreign countries and in limited cities in India. 
• With LTE, we can get speeds varying from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps. But in reality we acquire speed in between 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps (that is a lot what else do u expect). 
• For LTE, devices has to be compatible and changes has to be made in the network setup

With the increasing speeds day by day reaching to the max speed that LAN can provide, we can’t predict what’s coming next. Newer technologies LTE-Advanced, Mobile WiMax are arising. 

To conclude I wish to recommend using the data speed that serves your purpose well in order to get better battery life and also cost effective. 

P.S. Getting 'G' become difficult, collected '4G LTE' from my friend at San Jose

Addon - Check out the list of data bit rates here

--
Satya Sravan