What is H+ in Mobile Networks, explained

Last updated on March 28th, 2023 at 01:32 am

What does H+ in mobile networks mean, What does H+ signal mean, etc these are curiosity when we see H+ sign on phone so let us understand all about mobile network symbols G, E, 3G, H, H+, 4G, LTE, VoLTE, 5GE, 5G and 6G symbols. Some of you may have presumptions that when a 3G symbol appears on your smartphone’s screen, you get a high download speed as compared to when symbol H or H+ sign on phone appears.

But many of you have noticed that when a symbol H appears, browsing gets faster, and data downloads very fast as compared to the 3G symbol. But when the E or G symbol appears, some of you may not like to use the internet because the download speed gets very slow.

These symbols switch a lot in some areas or during different times of the day, even at the same location. So some of you might search for a spot where you find a stable symbol, preferably H or 3G.

Those who use 2G connections, can see two symbols E and G only while customers on 3G connections see G, E, 3G, H, H+, and symbols. Customers with 4G connections come across all symbols G, E, 3G, H, H+, and 4G symbols.

But what do these symbols really mean, technically !!. G stands for GPRS ( General Packet Radio Service ) and is the slowest standard used in the 2G GSM network. E is an extension of GPRS and it is called EDGE ( Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution) under a 2.5G network. It is a little faster on the 2G GSM network.

3G (Third Generation) stands for UMTS ( Universal Mobile Telecommunication System ) and is faster than a 2G network.

What H+ in Mobile Networks

When do we see H+ sign on phone? what this H+ signal means ?, and what is H+ in Mobile Networks. All these queries get clarified by their full forms. Here H stands for HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) and H+ stands for HSPA+ (Evolved High-Speed Packet Access), and both use a 3G UMTS network. H is faster than 3G and H+ is faster than H.

H (HSPA or High-Speed Packet Access) and H+ (HSPA+) are both mobile data transmission technologies that are used by 3G mobile networks. H is the older technology and is also known as HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access), while H+ in Mobile Networks is an improved version of HSDPA.

The key difference between HSPA and HSPA+ is the speed at which data can be transmitted over the network. H+ in Mobile Networks offers faster download and upload speeds compared to H because it uses more advanced modulation and coding schemes, as well as improved interference cancellation techniques. Specifically, H+ in Mobile Networks can offer download speeds of up to 42 Mbps, while H can only offer download speeds of up to 14 Mbps.

In addition to speed, H+ in Mobile Networks also offers other improvements over HSPA, such as reduced latency and improved network capacity, which means that more users can use the network simultaneously without experiencing a slowdown.

It’s worth noting that both H and H+ in Mobile Networks are part of the 3G mobile network technology and have been superseded by 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and 5G (Fifth Generation) technologies, which offer even faster speeds and more advanced features.

4G

4G stands for LTE (Long Term Evolution) and is the fastest but now LTE-A (Long Term Evolution-Advanced) is the new standard which is super fast.

See the below table for G, E, 3G, H, H+, 4G, LTE, VoLTE, 5GE, 5G, and 6G.

Symbol	Generation	Standard	Full Name	Max Download Speed	Max Upload Speed
2G	2G	GSM	Global System for Mobile Communication	14.4 Kbits/sec	14.4 Kbits/sec
G	2G	GPRS	General Packet Radio Service	53.6 Kbits/sec	26.8 Kbits/sec
E	2.5G	EDGE	Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution	217.6 Kbits/sec	108.8 Kbits/sec
3G	3G	UMTS/ WCDMA	Universal Mobile Telecommunication System/ Wideband Code Division Multiple Access	384 Kbits/sec	128 Kbits/sec
H	3.5G	HSPA	High Speed Packet Access	7.2 Mbits/sec	3.6 Mbits/sec
H+	3.75G	HSPA+	Evolved High Speed Packet Access- Release 6 to 10	14.4 Mbits/sec to 168.8 Mbits/sec	5.76 Mbits/sec to 23 Mbits/sec
4G	4G	LTE	Long Term Evoluton	100 Mbits/sec	50 Mbits/sec
VoLTE	4G	LTE	Voice over Long Term Evoluton
5GE	4G	LTE-A	Long Term Evoluton- Advanced	1 Gbits/sec	500 Mbits/sec
5G	5G	MIMO / mmWaves	Multiple-Input Multiple-Output/ milimeter wavelengh	20 Gbits/sec	10 Gbits/sec
6G	6G	MIMO / mmWaves	Multiple-Input Multiple-Output/ milimeter wavelengh	Up to 1 Terabits/sec	10 Gbits/sec

After launching the Jio mobile service in India, Jio customers see the VoLTE symbol on their smartphones. VoLTE stands for Voice over Long-Term Evolution. VoLTE works on any spectrum whether it’s 850/1800/2300. but 850 MHz bands are considered good because of their good coverage. VoLTE is meant for high-definition voice calls only using an LTE network.

5GE

Some phones show a 5GE icon but this is not the actual 5G network-supported phone, it is connectivity to enhanced 4G LTE networks technologies like three-way carrier aggregation, 4×4 MIMO, and 256 QAM. Because of these features, the existing 4G LTE wireless network is faster.

5G

5G is working in many countries including the United States and 5G-enabled smartphones really test the features of 5G technology. Their smartphone shows a 5G symbol which means that your smartphone is connected to a 5G network that supports up to 10Gbps download speed, almost 10 times faster than 4G speed.

Frequency bands are different in different countries that range from 600 MHz to 71 GHz.

How 5GE is different from 5G

5GE (5G Evolution) is a marketing term used by AT&T to describe their network technology that is not actually 5G. It is essentially a rebranding of their existing 4G LTE Advanced network, which has been enhanced with additional features such as carrier aggregation, 4×4 MIMO, and 256 QAM modulation to improve network performance and speed.

In contrast, 5G (Fifth Generation) is a true next-generation wireless network technology that is designed to deliver faster download and upload speeds, lower latency, and higher network capacity compared to 4G LTE. It uses advanced technologies such as millimeter-wave frequencies, massive MIMO, and beamforming to enable new use cases such as autonomous vehicles, virtual and augmented reality, and the Internet of Things. So, while 5GE and 5G both offer improved network performance, 5GE is essentially a marketing term used by AT&T to describe their enhanced 4G LTE Advanced network, whereas 5G is a new wireless network technology that represents a true generational shift in network technology.

6G

Research on 6G has already taken up at a fast pace however when comparing 5G vs 6G, the former 5G is allocated for a low-frequency band of sub-6 GHz while 6G would be in high band frequencies above 24.25 GHz to be precisely 6G will be operative at the frequency range 95 GHz to 3 THz (Terahertz). 6G speed is expected to be 100 times faster than 5G, so it is expected that 6G will deliver a peak data rate of 1,000 gigabits/s (1 Terabit/sec) with a latency of fewer than 100 microseconds.