• At its most reliable connection, a phone equipped with 3G technology can theoretically reach speeds of up to 3 Mbps. An average user can expect to actually reach speeds closer to 1 Mbps or lower. These speeds are comparable to standard home DSL Internet connections. Phones that are compatible with 4G technology will possibly reach data speeds in the 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps range. Depending on your location within your wireless service provider's 4G coverage area, data speeds will be between 10 and 100 times faster than 3G networks.

Implementation and Coverage

• Because 4G is a new wireless technology, it has yet to achieve widespread coverage from any of the major service providers (as of March, 2011). Most service providers have coverage maps that indicate where 4G technology is supported. Phones that use 4G technology as their primary connection will revert to 3G technology when outside of the network. These 4G-capable phones, however, will be ready when service providers offer 4G to the majority of the United States.

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Types of Phones

• In order to access 4G coverage, phones must be installed with the newer wireless technology. Older 3G phones cannot access 4G data connections. Most wireless service providers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon have begun to offer 4G-capable phones. These phone offer additional features such as video calling, high definition video streaming and broadband Internet access for computers. Mobile web browsers on 4G capable phones includes features commonly found on desktop browsers such as tabbed browsing, Adobe Flash compatibility and advanced HTML email support.

Higher Fees

• Naturally, due to increased data transfer speeds and capabilities of equipment using a 4G wireless connection, it will require a different, more costly service plan than a 3G wireless connection. This change may be implemented by adding a premium fee onto an existing plan, or by creating new plans altogether. Additional services using 4G technology such as tethering (which turns a phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot for a computer) may also require an additional fee to use.