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5G speed poor. Worse than LTE+ on Koodo

SMOKESKULL
Friendly Neighbour

I just switched to Telus 50GB unlimited and my speeds on 5G are slower than I had on Koodo. I called tech support and it was elevated 2 levels and I was told the service in my area for 5G was poor. I asked where the tower for 5G was and she told me the address. I drove to the base of the tower and the speeds are even worse than at my house. 

THe advertising claims up to 2GBs. I would be moderatly happy if I even got tyhe speeds I had with Koodo on 4G. What is going on?

4 REPLIES 4

Nighthawk
Community Power User
Community Power User

2gbps is only going to be available in areas with towers that support the frequency required and have enough available bandwidth to offer that speed. It will also depend greatly on which phone you have as some won't have a chipset capable of that speed. At present the 5G map shows 5G 3500MHz service in a small number of cities and even if there is a 3500MHz capable tower nearby, it doesn't mean you'll see crazy speeds. 

 

5G, especially at higher frequencies, can be more easily impacted by environmental factors than LTE. That includes buildings, walls, etc. If you were right at the tower, the antennas would have been above you and aimed away from you so you would need to be a short distance away. If you want to see a map of towers, you can see one here. 5G can also use local repeaters as well so the tower isn't the only source. The repeaters are often on light or utility poles and look like little white boxes. They are not 3500MHz though.


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I have an S23 Ultra. It can get 650Mbs using wifi on a gigabit connection. I tested the speeds as I approached the tower array situated on a peak within the city. The speed only got worse the closer I got. I made sure the towers were in clear view each time.

Am planning to switch from koodo to telus , if somebody have advice which one is better regarding signal , speed ,etc.. i have s23 ultra

SMOKESKULL
Friendly Neighbour
If your in a big city and close to the 5g towers you can expect good results. I am in Kamloops and 5G service here is 4G branded as 5G which I think is very misleading. If your paying for 5G you should expect service faster than 4G LTE+
Good luck