iPhone 3G/3GS Network Speeds, And We Thought Rogers Was Bad!

As my favorite TV personality would say, “WAKE UP BIG BOY!” (Bonus points if you post the answer below.)

We Canadians, as proud as we are, have been lamenting the 3G network speeds coming from our master Rogers Wireless (which means Fido too!). We have had numerous posts detailing the various speeds locally in Vancouver, BC and even across North America, but a post made earlier this evening by our friends over at the Boy Genius Report had me feeling pretty good about the Rogers 3G Network speeds. (Part 2 of their post is available here)

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Rogers Wireless advertises an up to 7.2Mbps (megabits) download speed for its 3G Network but that speed, simply said, is unattainable in realistic conditions. As far as devices go, the iPhone 3G can process speeds of up to 3.6Mbps and the iPhone 3GS of up to 7.2Mbps but in either case, you will get maybe half those speeds realistically. The point is, Rogers advertises up to 7.2Mbps and we iPhone 3G/3GS customers across Canada can get about 3.0Mbps on average. Most Rogers iPhone 3G/3GS customers would say that is not acceptable and I would agree…atleast I did agree.

My iPhone 3GS (on average) achieves 3.0Mbps download (3000 Kbps) and 200Kbps upload. Our local iPhoneFan achieves about the same result at 2.5Mbps. However, these speeds are a far cry from what our technologically savvy neighbors can achieve just South of the Border.

As I mentioned earlier, the article posted at BGR detailed that the AT&T “3G” Network is…well…horrible! The author described top AT&T download speeds of 384Kbps (TOP speeds folks, TOP), and low download speeds of 38Kbps. Remember that AT&T positions itself as the “nation’s fastest 3G network“, which is laughable when you see the speeds the network is delivering.

If you take a look at the comments on the BGR post, you will see that across the USA, users achieve about an average 824Kbps download speed and 181Kbps upload speed).

Let’s summarize.

Rogers Wireless (Canada):

X1Zero (iPhone 3GS): 3.0Mbps download / 200Kbps upload (average) (Vancouver, BC area tests)

iPhoneFan (iPhone 3GS): 2.5Mpbs download / 200Kbps upload (average) (Vancouver, BC area tests)

Canada (iPhone 3G/3GS): 2.9 Mbps download / 165Kbps upload (average)

AT&T (USA):

BGR Test (iPhone 3GS/Blackberry Bold): 384Kbps download / upload not documented (top documented speed) (New York area tests)

USA (iPhone 3G/3GS): 824Kbps download / 181Kbps upload (average)

Wow. I was surprised to see that AT&T operates in the less than 950Kbps range and that Rogers operates in the 2.0+Mbps range, especially after how we Rogers customers feel that the speed of the Rogers 3G Network should and could be faster. Of course the Rogers network speeds can be faster, but at this point in time would you rather be using the speeds coming from AT&T? I think not.

The numbers do not lie. When I see these results I am GLAD that I am in Canada with Rogers because at least my $3000 contracted investment is working somewhat as advertised.

There is some epic pride here flowing for Canadians! Stand up and hold your iPhone high!

Canada Wins

(3000 Kbps)
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