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Poll: 47% don't think they need 4G, but Apple is likely to change that with new iPhone release

Results from a new Piper Jaffray poll show consumers don't think they need 4G, but I am pretty sure Apple will change all of that with the next iPhone announcement. Once you taste the speed of LTE, you don't want to go back.
Written by Matthew Miller, Contributing Writer

I have written a few times about the 4G marketing term and how consumers just want something that performs well so I wasn't surprised to read the Piper Jaffray survey results that conclude 47 percent of consumers feel they don't need 4G and that another whopping 26 percent think they are all the same.

After using LTE on Verizon and AT&T I am fairly confident that these poll results are due to the fact that people haven't yet tasted LTE speeds like these. Once you use your smartphone or tablet with LTE it is tough to ever go back and I know that millions of people will change their mind about LTE as soon as the new iPhone launches and they see how fast everything flies. I also have HSPA+ on T-Mobile and am very happy with those speeds, but they are still about half of what I see on LTE on a daily basis (areas with 42 Mbps have great burst speeds though).

The poll indicates that marketing efforts by carriers are working too since 51 percent stated they don't know who has the best or think all networks are the same. In my experiences, Verizon is easily the top 4G carrier with the widest LTE coverage and the fastest speeds. AT&T has very few LTE markets, but their speeds are fast. Sprint only has a couple new LTE markets that are reportedly slower than the rest and their fall back CDMA network is glacial. T-Mobile's HSPA+ network is very fast and has decent coverage, but the 42 Mbps network coverage hasn't reached every location yet either.

I would like to see this poll conducted after the new iPhone and Windows Phone 8 devices launch and Sprint and T-Mobile get their LTE networks up and running because people will eventually taste the sweetness of speed and not want to give it up.

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