Rogers 3G Network Speedtest: iPhone 3G vs iPhone 3GS

by Gary on June 25th, 2009

The iPhone 3GS has some extra horsepower under the hood compared to the iPhone 3G. This was revealed in yesterday’s iPhone 3G vs 3GS boot up speed comparison. Another reason why people want the iPhone 3GS is the increased network speed over 3G.

Today’s video will primarily focus on Rogers 3G network speeds. It will feature another iPhone 3G vs iPhone 3GS showdown. The video will also show the launch speed of default iPhone apps (ie Weather, Stocks, Camera, Settings, etc) and a 3D application. Also the following question will be answered: Should I buy/upgrade to the iPhone 3GS?

Watch the video below to find out!

The Rogers Network is the Limitation for All iPhone 3GS Owners

As an iPhone 3GS owner, it irritates me that I can only get a max speed of about 2.2-2.5Mbps down. What gives? Rogers clearly advertises 7.2Mbps but this is actually impossible to achieve. Let’s quote the Rogers website:

Rogers has built more than the backbone of a network. We’ve created the fastest mobile network in the country. And we’re excited to announce that Canada’s fastest network‡ just got even faster, with the Rogers 3.5G Network. We’ve increased our network download speed from 3.6 Mbps to up to 7.2 Mbps from coast to coast, so you can browse, open/edit attachments, and access files faster than ever before. Even 2X faster than with the competition.

Err…network download speed of 3.6-7.2Mbps?! That is ridiculous because our test above showed that we barely were able to achieve 2.5Mbps on the iPhone 3GS. I would love to find out how we can get at least 3.6 or higher on my iPhone 3GS. Do I need to drive out into the countryside where the networks aren’t overcrowded?

My Open Letter to Rogers: Your GSM Days Will Soon Be Numbered

Dear Rogers, I implore you to increase the capacity to your network to allow the iPhone 3GS (aka the “fastest” iPhone yet–but not on Rogers) to perform to its peak. I strongly urge you to do so because when Telus/Bell rolls out their GSM network, you will be left in the dust. Here’s a sneak peak of things to come if you don’t believe me:

(thanks to Louis-Mario Jetté from Victoriaville, Quebec for emailing this in!)

YOUR TURN TO SHINE! Download the apps Speedtest and Speedtest.net. Then, tell us the following info, like the example below (copy and paste into comments):

Speedtest.net (or Speedtest)
Network: Rogers
iPhone: 3GS
Location: Vancouver
Down: 2500kbps
Up: 200kbps

What speeds are you able to get on your iPhone 3G? iPhone 3GS?

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Posted under: iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone News

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Recent Forums

Fenton

I get 2-2.5 Mbps download on 3GS on Fido. Question - does Fido and Rogers offer the same 3G coverage? Bestbuy and Fido says yes - but Rogers says they are better! Who is telling the truth?

J-P

Speedtest
06/27/09 00:27
iPhone 3GS
Carrier: Rogers
Location: Montreal, Qc
Down Speed: 3224 kbits/s
Up Speed: 186 kbits/s

Christopheraceto

Rogers in Toronto. I consistently get 4100 kbits/s to 5500 kbits/s. Verified using Xtreme Speedtest App.

JanSan

2009-06-25 did couple of test between 10pm and 2 am
Speedtest.net
Network: Rogers
iPhone: 3G
Location: Downtown Toronto (just down the street from Rogers HQ)
Down: 272, 196, 593, 979 (2 am), 240 kbps
Up: 17, 29, 129, 86, 87 kbps

for comparison my wifi: down 4348kbps, up 612 kbps

Seeing the rest of the speeds i'm thinking of calling CSR.... what the heck??

Matt

Speedtest
06/25/09 19:23 MST
iPhone 3GS
Carrier: Rogers
Location: Fort McMurray, AB
Down Speed: 4384 kbits/s
Up Speed: 159 kbits/s

Matt

Speedtest
iPhone 3GS
Carrier: Rogers
Location: Fort McMurray, AB
Down Speed: 3513 kbits/s
Up Speed: 182 kbits/s

xxJDxx

Make sure you check what server you are connecting to, my phone loaded a server in spokane by default, but when i connected to the vancouver server my speeds were significantly higher.

That being said, my results were all over the place, download was anywhere from 500kbps to 2400kbps...upload was consistently bad at aroudn 300-500 kbpd

JMCD23

Highest I've pulled is about 2.3 in London while tethering, if I ran it on the phone it only got 1.2 . That was at 4am at work with 5 bars as well. Perhaps downtown might have better speeds.

rorypiper

Just did about 10 tests with the Speedtest.net app, and only got over 2mbps once. Pathetic. When they advertise 7.2 as the max, we should expect at least 4 or 5mbps. Did a test on my WiFi at home and got over 11mbps!

Mike

What the!!!!!

Speedtest
iPhone 3GS
Carrier: Rogers
Location: Victoria, BC
Down Speed: 178
Up Speed: 194

Is there something wrong with my phone? Or does Rogers actually suck this bad in Victoria?

techbliss

LAWL! @GARY You don't have to keep saying "3GS wins.. 3GS is in the lead.. etc" I think we can all agree that the 3GS is supposed to be faster than the 3G. Is that your subtle way to justify buying the 3GS???

I still ain't buying it. Yes because I can't at the moment because of the 3yr contract and also because I refuse to pay $700 for it..

Gary

Haha, yes that was me secretly trying to brainwash you guys into dropping a few bills on upgrading to the 3GS. I think it was more about me trying to contain my 3GS excitement...LOL! ;) PS - Get the 3GS, you know you WANT it. !!!

Dude

I agree. I am sticking to my 3G and 2 years left on my contract. My 3G is jailbroken, unlocked, and also does skype over 3G. These are things that the 3GS cannot do until it is jailbroken. I can talk all over North America for 2 bucks a month on my 6GB plan using skype over 3G. This is unlimited calling and does not take any minutes from my 'voice' bucket.

Saving 2 seconds here and 12 seconds plus a couple of hundred dollars ot more there does not equal my unlimited calling over 3G and being able to use any sim card I please.

kai

I thought the 3.5G network was already out. They advertise it on TV

Cody

The advertise it and apparently the tech is in place, but it's definitely not running yet.

This is just was the rep said at Rogers yesterday and I hope he's right.

TK

every time I see anything new that mentions Telus or Bell setting up to do battle
I get the little Homer Simpson "eeeeee" giddy laugh in my head.

now I'm just wondering knowing the penalties for canceling out a contract on a 3G - what is the difference should you end a 3GS contract early?

Gary

It's $20/month up to $400, plus $100 for canceling data! Not cheap.

Cody

I just upgraded my 3GS yesterday and was asking when the 7.2 network would be rolled out and the rep said that they are still working on it. He seemed as dissappointed as I was (he is a 3GS owner as well) but it's good to know it's actually coming!

mrhunk

With SpeedTest app. downloads between 2~ 3.3Mbps , uploads max 0.27Mbps . i admit i feel a little increase in download speed after upgrading from 3G to 3GS but definately no sign of 7.2Mbps :(

Richard Smith

Here are my results - 1.7mbps from middle of English Bay, Vancouver (going 30 knots in a boat...):

http://www.speedtest.net/result/503671225.png

Mike

Network: Rogers
iPhone: 3GS
Location: Calgary
Down: 674kbps ; 419kbps ; 491kbps
Up: 103kbps ; 115kbps ; 30kbps

Chris

I tried again, not great but better:

Speedtest.net
Network: Rogers
iPhone: 3GS
Location: Vancouver
Down: 1536kbps
Up: 141kbps

Chris

I don't know if I did something wrong but:

Speedtest.net
Network: Rogers
iPhone: 3GS
Location: Ottawa
Down: 322kbps
Up: 6kbps

I have 4 bars of signal on 3G...

Kai

I think 7.2 is the quoted maximum. Also, I think you're reading the statement wrong. They didn't upgrade so that the speeds will now be 3.6-7.2Mbps, they went from a max speed of 3.6Mbps (3g) to a max speed of 7.2Mbps.

Mathieu

Speedtest.net
Network: Rogers
iPhone: 3GS
Location: Montreal
Down: 1.72 mbps
Up: 0.2mbps

Rehan

I hope Rogers monopoly goes down with them... For too long they have been robbing their customers. Whenever Bell / telus goes to GSM , I am switching over.

Mojo

Here's a better explanation about what 3.6 and 7.2 Mbps networks mean:
http://gizmodo.com/5295789/giz-explains-what-at...

I'm no fan of Rogers, but do a little research before freaking out. Every network has overhead, even wired ones. I routinely get 2.5Mbps on Fido in Toronto, and have seen over 3Mbps several times. Not bad considering my (non-Rogers) cable modem connection is 6Mbps.

Gary

Hehe, that wasn't a freak out--I'll let you know when I lose my marbles! ;) I'm more concerned with how Rogers is using this 7.2Mbps to deceive and twist it through their marketing and advertising. That's what irks me.

Guest

Another good video clip iPhoneFan. Robbers clearly did say 7.2! Telus/Bell, if there rumors are true about their speeds, its gonna kill Robbers!
Application - Speedtest
Location - Alberta
Network - Robbers (Rogers)
iPhone 3GS
Down - AVG: 2541 kbps MAX: 2541 kbps
Up - AVG 227 kbps MAX 227 kbps

Jeff

The iPhone is more CPU limited than network limited. This can be proven with tethering. When tethered to my laptop here in Saskatoon I can get 5Mbps down consistently using www.speakeasy.net/speedtest The iPhone has to burn a lot of cycles to process the data or website it is downloading. When tethered this is passed directly to the laptop for processing. I have also found that Xtremelabs test to be very inaccuate.

Kelly Mann

Speedtest
Network: Rogers
iPhone: 3GS
Location: Abbotsford
Down: 3092kbps
Up: 233kbps

http://twitpic.com/8d0m4

Mike

Was able to get 4.6 Mbps a few times on Rogers in Toronto on the 3GS. Usually hit around 2-3 Mbps though. Depends where in the city and when. http://twitpic.com/84unn

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