Internet Connection Conflicts: What Letter E means?

Internet Connection Conflicts: What Letter E means?

The letter E you see next to the signal bars of your handset stands for EDGE or Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution. EDGE is also known as EGPRS or Enhanced GPRS. It is considered a pre-3G radio technology which is also included in the 3G definition. This mobile phone technology was implemented on GSM networks that started in 2003 and the first to implement it was Cingular which is now known as AT&T in the United States.

On the other hand, the letter H you see next to the signal bars on your phone stands for HSPA or High Speed Packet Access which is actually the 3G network or the third-generation mobile broadband communications technology. HSPA actually refers to 2 particular protocols that are used in tandem: HSDPA or the High Speed Downlink Packet Access and HSUPA or the High Speed Uplink Packet Access.

An HSPA network provides a maximum of 14.4 MBps or megabytes per second of throughput for every cell. Aside from E and H, you might also see H+ on your phone and this refers to HSPA+ which is recognized as the 4G network or the fourth-generation technology in December 2010.

Though HSPA+ is considered to be 4G, it provides a much slower speed than the major 4G standard or LTE. LTE is the short term used for Long Term Evolution.