Database Info

htc inspire with FAKE hspa+ ??

i have not seen 1 video anywhere showing htc inspire getting REAL hspa+ speed!
my samsung captivate with regular hspa getting better (higher) speed!

I am pretty sure that AT&T hasn't turned on their backhaul yet

JCreazy said:
I am pretty sure that AT&T hasn't turned on their backhaul yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
then why sent out hspa+ phone (inspire) for bloggers to review when hspa+ is not ready yet!
that is like car company sent out new cars (next year model) to reviewers but without the key! cus the engine is not ready yet?

I think the main purpose is to get the phone out and reviewed before the iPhone 4 goes to verizon. I personally care about battery life and os before it being faster than my current technology.

onthezone said:
I think the main purpose is to get the phone out and reviewed before the iPhone 4 goes to verizon. I personally care about battery life and os before it being faster than my current technology.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
most people want this phone cus it' HSPA+ otherwise if you just care about battery or OS, just get a phone with 1500mzh battery (samsung captivate). haha

Myself could care less about the network speed. Theres a lot more I like about this phone than hsdpa+

HSPA+ is a touchy subject these days. As we all know, all HSPA phones benefit when AT&T and T-Mobile increase their network speeds and backhaul. It really comes down to network congestion and how far away from a tower you are.
I have a friend who's on T-Mobile who gets better download speeds at his work (about 3 miles away from mine) with his Nexus One than I do with my HSPA+ capable T-Mobile G2.
Most older phones are capable of HSPA speeds up to 7 Mbps. So until T-Mobile and AT&T crank up the download speeds to 21 or 42 Mbps, most people will not see much of a difference between HSPA+ phones which are labeled as "4G" and your run-of-the-mill 3G handset.

so it' another ATT BS lie?
on att.com it said "evolve faster with speeds up to 4x faster* then at&t's already fast mobile broadband network"
i have not seen 1 speedtest anywhere that shows inspire able to get real hspa+ speed!
how you know it' not another samsung? (get it? samsung with fake gps, htc inspire with fake hspa+)

I think it hspa+ capable. Yes ATT 4g is probably not fully launched. I also dont get why a 4g phone is released without 4g speed. I get dl speed of 3mbps in Houston. Houston has very good ATT service. Very consistent all areas in Houston. I am very curious how consistent 4g is here in Houston. However when we have 4g it will be a upgrade from 3g. I was planning to wait for the phone til its offered for free. I just don't have the urge to replace my N1.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

netnerd said:
so it' another ATT BS lie?
on att.com it said "evolve faster with speeds up to 4x faster* then at&t's already fast mobile broadband network"
i have not seen 1 speedtest anywhere that shows inspire able to get real hspa+ speed!
how you know it' not another samsung? (get it? samsung with fake gps, htc inspire with fake hspa+)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is the phone is definetly capable of the faster speeds it is just that AT&T at this time does not offer those speeds. Even with their 3G phones, the phones are very much capable of faster speeds then AT&T networks are putting out.

nickmgray said:
HSPA+ is a touchy subject these days. As we all know, all HSPA phones benefit when AT&T and T-Mobile increase their network speeds and backhaul. It really comes down to network congestion and how far away from a tower you are.
I have a friend who's on T-Mobile who gets better download speeds at his work (about 3 miles away from mine) with his Nexus One than I do with my HSPA+ capable T-Mobile G2.
Most older phones are capable of HSPA speeds up to 7 Mbps. So until T-Mobile and AT&T crank up the download speeds to 21 or 42 Mbps, most people will not see much of a difference between HSPA+ phones which are labeled as "4G" and your run-of-the-mill 3G handset.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly when the HSPA+ gets going all phones 3G and up should see a speed increase.

doctahjeph said:
The problem is the phone is definetly capable of the faster speeds it is just that AT&T at this time does not offer those speeds. Even with their 3G phones, the phones are very much capable of faster speeds then AT&T networks are putting out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and the samsung galaxy S (captivate) is definitely capable of gps navigation cus it has a gps chip? or maybe the bigger problem is htc inspire has defective hspa+ !!

netnerd said:
and the samsung galaxy S (captivate) is definitely capable of gps navigation cus it has a gps chip? or maybe the bigger problem is htc inspire has defective hspa+ !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

netnerd said:
and the samsung galaxy S (captivate) is definitely capable of gps navigation cus it has a gps chip? or maybe the bigger problem is htc inspire has defective hspa+ !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol, no. I am pretty sure it is AT&T's network. You believe what you want though.

doctahjeph said:
lol, no. I am pretty sure it is AT&T's network. You believe what you want though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there' a word for that, it' call Denial

netnerd said:
there' a word for that, it' call Denial
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Obvious troll is obvious.
Maybe you should wait for the phone to come out before talking smack about it. Let's see how things pan out after the thing officially launches.

Ok guys arguing about this is pointless. Lets all calm down. Most times when The phones are sent out for review they are just that "Phone Reviews". When the network updates are ready then they will most likely due a new review comparing the 4G networks. There is alot more to a phone then how fast the connection is with the cell provider that can sway some one to decide to buy the phone.
As I can see this as heading to the flame war section I am gonna close this up now.

Captivate and 4G

Was reading in another thread (which was closed while I was writing a reply) that some people here might be confused around what 4G is and whether or not their Cappy can be upgraded to it.
First, the simple answer:
Your Cappy cannot be upgraded to 4G. Now or ever. It is possible that it could be upgraded to HSPA+ with the right software. But that is not 4G. 4G is a different radio access protocol running at different frequencies.
The longer answer:
The source of all this confusion is T-Mobile's marketing department who claim their HSPA+ network is 4G. 4G is not HSPA+ or anything like it. It is 3.5G. Much like GPRS and EDGE were 2.5G. LTE (the real 4G) is far superior to HSPA+ for several reasons regardless of the bandwidth claims. Mainly 4G will not suffer nearly as much from congestion like 3G HSPA / HSPA+. It is that same 3G congestion that motivated AT&T to turn off HSUPA on our phones. It's because AT&T's 3G network (UMTS, HSPA, and HSPA+) is already heavily congested in many markets.
Only posting this so people don't think they can get true 4G on their Cappy. It won't happen.

AT&T is also marketing their 4G service as HSPA+, with LTE technology entering their network late 2011.

bptba93 said:
AT&T is also marketing their 4G service as HSPA+, with LTE technology entering their network late 2011.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, they've started down that path as well. Just don't expect 4G speeds on any of these "4G" devices unless you're the only smartphone user for miles. I truly wonder what AT&T and eventually T-Mobile will call their LTE networks. 4G 2.0?

From AT&T:
Not all 4G networks are created equal. AT&T is the only carrier that will offer two layers of network technology delivering 4G speeds – HSPA+ and LTE.*
Why does that matter?
When combined with enhanced backhaul, our HSPA+ software upgrade is expected to deliver speeds up to 4x faster than ordinary mobile broadband. And we'll be evolving to even higher speeds with the planned initial launch of our LTE network in mid-2011. When you're traveling on our networks, you'll enjoy faster speeds and a smoother, more consistent mobile broadband experience overall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So is HSPA+ just a software upgrade with no hardware enhancements in the cellphones or towers?
I do understand the reasoning behind AT&T doing HSPA+ before LTE as it offers reasonably fast speeds in areas where LTE has not matured. If it is indeed only software based, I wouldn't mind seeing an increase from HSPA 7.2Mbps to pseudo "4G" HSPA+ 21Mbps (although these speeds are "up to") on the captivate. Will HSPA+ be up to 21Mbps right out of the gate?
My brother uses epic 4G on Sprint, and in areas of no 4G wimax, his 3G speeds are abysmal... Has sprint stopped upgrading their 3G and is only concentrating on the expansion of 4G?
According to that, AT&T's HSPA+ will end up faster than Sprint's 4G (3-6Mbps on average and up to 10Mbps) unless they pick up the pace.
For LTE (5-12Mbps) according to Verizon.
So is 4G labeling the technology once fully matured (Up to 100Mbps for both LTE and Wimax) or current speed being delivered? Because Sprint and Verizon do advertise their current technologies as being "4G speeds" which AT&T can defeat if their HSPA+ (56Mbps matured) is 21Mbps out of the gate.
The way I see it is that 4G speeds have never existed and should never have been advertised (started by Sprint), but the technology to get there is currently in the building phase.
First post, so I can't back up the speed claims with links directly to Sprint and Verizon 4G speed pages lol
And please correct me if I'm wrong on anything... I'm here to learn.

4G isn't that far away I think AT&T is playing it safe with the 4G in the future thing. I have a couple friends that install att towers and phone lines they have been crazy busy establishing the 4G network in the major cities in know for a fact that most of Dallas and Ft. Worth will be 4G ready this spring as for outlying areas that will take some time. But if you live in a big city area expect your LTE right off the bat
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

LTE is not 4G it still falls under the 3G umbrella along with WIMAX. 4G technologies can do 100M down.

Hydro360 said:
4G isn't that far away I think AT&T is playing it safe with the 4G in the future thing. I have a couple friends that install att towers and phone lines they have been crazy busy establishing the 4G network in the major cities in know for a fact that most of Dallas and Ft. Worth will be 4G ready this spring as for outlying areas that will take some time. But if you live in a big city area expect your LTE right off the bat
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It better be here, it's their home

Does anybody else remember this?
http://www.nokiasiemensnetworks.com...works-provides-teliasonera-with-advanced-radi
Just thought this could help a bit.

I just need to clarify one more point in addition to OP's post:
Even though HSPA+ is merely a software upgrade in the carrier side (towers), so far it is not the case with phones. So far there is no phone out there that can be software upgraded to take advantage of HSPA+'s higher speed. T-Mo has to release Galaxy S 4G phone to get 4G support. HSPA+ towers offer backward compatibility with current 3G phones but it doesn't mean you will get higher speed by default (much like 11n routers supports 11G and 11B clients but only 11n client can reach the max bandwidth).
And no, HSDPA + HSUPA does not equal to HSPA+.

groves226 said:
LTE is not 4G it still falls under the 3G umbrella along with WIMAX. 4G technologies can do 100M down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only according to a few people within the ITU. 4G is LTE (and for a few sorry sorry suckers, it is WiMAX). Or at least that is how everyone in the industry sees it (outside of T-Mobile USA and now AT&T and a bunch of confused customers).
As far as speeds are concerned, we should treat Mbps throughput ratings with a grain of salt. Those are ideal world, no contention data rates which when taken out of the lab are purely theoretical. HSPA+ is an upgrade. LTE is a whole new set of radio access, backhaul and core technologies.

My friend has a "4G" LTE phone from Verizon and he got 4 or 5 mbps while I got over 5 on HSPA.

[Q] Does anyone have 4g yet?

I have been hearing many things about "4G" launching march 1st. Then once that passed I've been hearing middle-end of March. Has anyone actually been getting speeds of about 6mbps average, not just a peak times. Also if you have go to setting about phone and then network and look at network type and see if it says hsdpa+. The most I ever got standing next to a tower was 5.10 Down and .42 up on stalk, not rooted. I'm starting to think that this AT&T 4G is BS and is just crap advertising like T-Mobile "4G"

I live in Dallas and we are suppose to be in a "4G" area and my speeds haven't changed. On a good day, 4mb down and 1.5 up.

I'm also supposed to be in a 4G area according to their coverage map but I don't see any improvements. Does the 4G map show 4G with backhaul or is it just where the towers are upgraded but backhaul still needs work. Since in all their compercails it says 4G available in limited areas when combines with backhaul

There are only a few 4g areas up, they are:
Cali "bay area", Greater LA, Greater Dallas TX, Buffalo NY, Boston MA, Providence RI, Baltimore MD, Charlotte NC, and Chicago IL.
The 4g areas can be found here: http://www.att.com/network/#fbid=ZfECQbHFsTm

Here's the coverage map with where I live as well as the 4G with back haul crap website (see attachment)
Shoot just noticed you can't really read the works on the website but it says that future mobile broadband to be available by march 31st. I live right where the arrow is pointing to.
Also click on 4g FAQ and look at the questions about the H+ Icon

Im in the bayarea not not seeing any top speeds non rooted. I live in Dublin Ca and the speed i just got was 1705 up 325 down which is about how its been for 3 weeks. When i go into settings the network reads HSPDA but no plus. ATT coverage map in the bottom corner says this is for 3 g not 4g.
Anyone know if there is more to the backhaul in the sfbay area or is this it? Nowahere near the speeds advertised.
Also anyword on ATT releasing ghe cap on the upload?

Actually the map does show 4G coverage if you scroll over. At the top it says that. And from what I've read AT&T only mentioned enabling it on the Atrix they never said anything about the Inspire. But I would think that if they enable it on the Atrix they will on the Inspire, but the question is when. It took them 5 months to release froyo for the captavate and aria after the carrier released it so I wouldn't hold my breath.

I live smack dab in the middle of downtown San Francisco, 5 bars of good ol fashioned HSDPA... NOT 4G... not sure what the deal is with SF, and how they can advertise it as being launched already, but clearly it's NOT.

bella92108 said:
I live smack dab in the middle of downtown San Francisco, 5 bars of good ol fashioned HSDPA... NOT 4G... not sure what the deal is with SF, and how they can advertise it as being launched already, but clearly it's NOT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats what I'm saying. The phones are called 4G, I see their 4G commercials, but no one sees 4G on their phones. People are asking them whats the deal and they don't respond to anything. I called them yesterday to ask why I'm not getting any 4G speeds and they blamed it on my phone. I told the rep that I went to the AT&T store and tested the phones their and they got slow speeds as well. She said that 4G will launch in the summer. Do they train these reps at all?

pachkamil said:
Thats what I'm saying. The phones are called 4G, I see their 4G commercials, but no one sees 4G on their phones. People are asking them whats the deal and they don't respond to anything. I called them yesterday to ask why I'm not getting any 4G speeds and they blamed it on my phone. I told the rep that I went to the AT&T store and tested the phones their and they got slow speeds as well. She said that 4G will launch in the summer. Do they train these reps at all?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think they train em about as well as they trained the techs to build out the 3G network in 2008 and 2009... great they made 3G iPhones without having a 3G network, lol.

kgeissler said:
I live in Dallas and we are suppose to be in a "4G" area and my speeds haven't changed. On a good day, 4mb down and 1.5 up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same situation here in Baltimore.
Not once have I ever seen HSPA+ show up in the About Phone/Network menu or the speeds to indicate otherwise.
I call BS on AT&T's whole operation.

They should at least tell people that they won't see 4G speeds until ___________ not show a fake 4G coverage map and call the phones 4G. I am covered by their "4G" and get slower than 3G speeds. Wow I'm glad I purchased a new 4G phone. The thunderbolt is looking real good.

pachkamil said:
They should at least tell people that they won't see 4G speeds until ___________ not show a fake 4G coverage map and call the phones 4G. I am covered by their "4G" and get slower than 3G speeds. Wow I'm glad I purchased a new 4G phone. The thunderbolt is looking real good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get legitimate 3G speeds in SF... really decent 3G speeds, but I bought the "4G" phone to get the 4G speeds, otherwise I could have just stuck with a 3G phone.
San Francisco, CA

earlier today

This is a screenshot of my network page:
And these are my speeds I took earlier today on my way to work:
So does this mean I'm getting that HSDPA data?
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

plmiller0905 said:
This is a screenshot of my network page:
And these are my speeds I took earlier today on my way to work:
So does this mean I'm getting that HSDPA data?
Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Per the NW page, only HSDPA, not +
They were taken at different times, you really need to look right before or after a test to see at that time.

I dont know if im right but, i dont think we will ever see hsdpa+ or hspa+ in settings network. The big question is, has anybody from any network, seen any gsm 4g phone display hspa+ or hsdpa+ on network connection? I live in puerto rico and my provider is Claropr and i have hit 7,8 and almost 9mb dl and 2mb ul here with the inspire, and all it shows is hsdpa. And yes we have hspa+ rolled out since december!
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App

smthrsd said:
Im in the bayarea not not seeing any top speeds non rooted. I live in Dublin Ca and the speed i just got was 1705 up 325 down which is about how its been for 3 weeks. When i go into settings the network reads HSPDA but no plus. ATT coverage map in the bottom corner says this is for 3 g not 4g.
Anyone know if there is more to the backhaul in the sfbay area or is this it? Nowahere near the speeds advertised.
Also anyword on ATT releasing ghe cap on the upload?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ATT claims they will remove the upload cap in the future, but no date of course. Personally I think the capped upload speed is very critical as I think upload is more important. Counterintuitive.

I'm rooted with flashed radio, so my signal strength icon is only an H, no +
In the settings I am on HSDPA
I was pulling about 5.5Mbps average down, 1.5 up as of a few minutes ago. My initial tests yielded 4-6Mbps down, 1 up.
Maybe it's finally on here in the NYC area?

prking07 said:
I dont know if im right but, i dont think we will ever see hsdpa+ or hspa+ in settings network. The big question is, has anybody from any network, seen any gsm 4g phone display hspa+ or hsdpa+ on network connection? I live in puerto rico and my provider is Claropr and i have hit 7,8 and almost 9mb dl and 2mb ul here with the inspire, and all it shows is hsdpa. And yes we have hspa+ rolled out since december!
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your probably right. I don't think that we will ever see a + but it will show with speed. Does anyone know any app rooted or not that will show a plus if your connected to hsdpa+ or if this is even possible?

How to utilize 3G bands and not 4G....

Hey guys!
Is there a way we can disable the 4G connection and only use 3G? Any help that you guys can as provide will be greatly appreciated!

There is no 4G in Atrix2. Is just a marketing ATT does.
4G = 3G

Shaliuno said:
There is no 4G in Atrix2. Is just a marketing ATT does.
4G = 3G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4G LTE = LTE (our phone doesn't support it)
4G = 3G + extra stuff to be better... but still techically 4G as it's AT&T's 4th generation of technology
3G = 3G
But I don't think that there's a way you can disable "4G" and only use 3G... you can disable 3G/4G and only use 2G though.

ATRIX 2 supports 21mbit hspa+ that's what they call 4G. 3g is really just slower versions of hspa+ for us. Post above is correct about LTE. LTE is better than hspa+ also.
Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk

Shaliuno said:
There is no 4G in Atrix2. Is just a marketing ATT does.
4G = 3G
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
my wifes iphone 4 must suck then.
hers is a "3g" and gets about 1.25 mbps
my atrix 2 4G gets 4.45 mbps
i think 4g is a bunch faster than 3g.....
or its just that the iphone a generally crap.
take your pick i suppose.

matt99017d said:
my wifes iphone 4 must suck then.
hers is a "3g" and gets about 1.25 mbps
my atrix 2 4G gets 4.45 mbps
i think 4g is a bunch faster than 3g.....
or its just that the iphone a generally crap.
take your pick i suppose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it's both really .
But our phone is about as fast as you can get on AT&T's network without using LTE. The OG Atrix also was "4G" but it was only 14.x mb/sec while our A2's radio supports up to 21.x mb/sec (or something around there). The iPhone X's only support 3G.

extide said:
ATRIX 2 supports 21mbit hspa+ that's what they call 4G. 3g is really just slower versions of hspa+ for us. Post above is correct about LTE. LTE is better than hspa+ also.
Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not too sure what you guys are meaning when you say better....
I was interested in the differences a while back and after researching around quite a bit, found that the speeds really depended on the phone's programming more so than whether it was LTE or HSPA+.

cowenby said:
Not too sure what you guys are meaning when you say better....
I was interested in the differences a while back and after researching around quite a bit, found that the speeds really depended on the phone's programming more so than whether it was LTE or HSPA+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LTE has higher bandwidth, and is less populated. HSPA+ can go up to 21mbit, yes, (which is less than LTE) BUT most AT&T HSPA+ deployments are 7mbit or 14mbit.
HSPA+ users typically see ~4-5mbit or so, maybe up to 7mbit on a 14.4mbit cell, but LTE users typically can see 9-11mbit+.
The best speedtest I have ever gotten on my phone was in the 5mbit range. SLC only has 7mbit HSPA+ from what I can tell, and since AT&T is going to LTE, it appears they wont be upgrading the HSPA+ network any more.

you're lucky. Around my area all you can get is 2-3 mbs.

mtnlion said:
you're lucky. Around my area all you can get is 2-3 mbs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats what I usually get too, but if I am right near a cell tower I can get the ~5mbit speeds.

Yeah, "4G" is actually HSPA+, which AT&T actually was going to call 3G+. The 4G crap came around because T-Mobile marketed it that way and if AT&T stuck with 3G+ they took the risk of people thinking T-Mobile was faster and losing customers. LTE was what they planned to call 4G.

extide said:
Thats what I usually get too, but if I am right near a cell tower I can get the ~5mbit speeds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, i'm in Orlando and normally getting 2-4 mbps...
I visited Boston a few Weeks ago and was getting 13!!!!!
Sent from my Motorola Atrix 2 with AT&T 4G

Their hspa+ is like 3.5 g its def better then reg 3g
Sent from the bridge of the
U.S.S. Enterprise using L.T.Com Worf

I feel as if their labeling of 4g was a bit deceiving as well but its understandable if it was meant to keep up with TMobile because of all the confusion between 4g and 4g lte.
The good news is that I don't believe our 4g is as battery-consuming as 4g lte, its probably about the same as regular 3g.
If you're wanting to limit it to 2g though there is a way to do it even though the menu is left out from our 'Settings'. Use anycut to get to network settings directly and choose GSM only.

At least T-Mobile's HSPA+ is significantly faster than "3G" - not an entirely undeserved title for them. ATT...not so much.

Ajfink said:
At least T-Mobile's HSPA+ is significantly faster than "3G" - not an entirely undeserved title for them. ATT...not so much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i got 13mbs on at&t so it works good for me
Sent from the bridge of the
U.S.S. Enterprise using L.T.Com Worf

kwiggington said:
i got 13mbs on at&t so it works good for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's pretty good. Max I've seen is 11mbit down.
I didn't believe it at first so I reran the speedtest a couple times to make sure.

Mine has topped out around 9Mbps, sadly.
It's not throughput that's bad on a decent 3G network, a lot of time's it's the latency. Meh. Whatever. Long live LTE.

I ran just ran the speedtest.net app and I have 7.20 mbps down and 1.13 up here in Atlanta. Thats even better than basic dsl albiet cable beats it easily....

Does the UK HTC one S support 4G ??

Everything every where are going 4g Soon.
I know the US version gets very high speeds.
Will i need a new phone?

the US HTC One S says 4G but its just DC HSPA+ which seems to work in India (Vodafone) its not 4g but we can say partial 4g the hspa+ signal is doubled to get double speed 42Mbps if am not wrong ..cheers bro .
And Like here 4G LTE (100mbps) is launched if it is launched in UK too , you will need new phone . NO 4g LTE phone has been launched yet in India . But they are giving Wifi routers

ah pants, wish id known before buying

Realistically I don't think it matters. NOBODY actually gets anywhere close to 100 Mbps on any LTE connection. They'd be lucky to get 30. In that sense if we can hit those speeds on DC-HSPA+ then who cares about LTE?

so can i get the new 4g in the uk or not? Im now confused?

Hopefully yes, use this phone only dnt sell it
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using xda app-developers app

aditya. said:
Hopefully yes, use this phone only dnt sell it
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So keep it and see i guess?
Only i would of sold it before there is a mass of htc one s phones on the market that are not capable.

I read that the lte frequency in the UK is 1800mhz and the one s supports 1800mhz band

LTE is 4G. One S does not and cannot ever support LTE, and it's not a matter of frequencies.
One S does support DC-HSPA which gives a theoretical down link @ 42 Mbps.
Many many carriers around the world has DC-HSPA, Three in Sweden has it for example, though I haven't managed a better speedtest.net result than 19 Mbps myself on it... Best TMOUS speedtest.net I recall seeing here was ~25Mbps I think.
None of the 4 swedish carriers with LTE networks promise more than 80 Mbps, though the rules for calling something 4G originally stated it should provide 1Gbit to stationary users and 100 Mbps to mobile users.
T-mobile in USA calls DC-HSPA 4G for marketing reasons but it is still a 3G UMTS technology. Still plenty fast enough for anything on a phone IM:angel:

sorry im still confused...............
In plain terms for a idiot...
Do i need a new phone to take advantage of 4G as the mobile companies would have me believe

To take advantage of what some carriers like TMobile US would have you believe is 4G you don't need a new phone. If Three UK is anything like 3 Sweden then they have a nice 3G network which can pass for 4G in America.
To take advantage of LTE which is even faster you need a new phone.
You could download hrrm stream I mean say 9 HD episodes of say Top Gear and thus fill your entire sdcard on the One S in 120 minutes on a decent 3G connection though so I'd say LTE isn't really needed.

does 4G have a more reliable connection than 3G as sometimes i find 3G drops on the One S

In the UK, 4g is only available from EE (Orange/TMobile) and only in very few places and yes you need a new phone, also deep pockets because it is expensive.

After tweeting EE, they said the phone wasn't compatible with their 4G network.
Sent from my HTC One S+

Yes - anyone wanting true 4G (LTE) will not be able to do so with any HTC One S.
It is worth noting, however, that anywhere you can get LTE you will almost certainly get HSPA+ (which is supported by One S). For most, that will mean speeds over 2Mb/s and up to 7Mb/s and cost significantly less than LTE. With EE currently not being very generous with their download limits (or coverage), why not stick with 3G until the market gets a bit more competitive? That will fit in nicely for when you are probably due a shiny new phone...