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I'm not talking about data use, I'm talking about instantaneous data rate. Base stations are designed to handle a particular maximum throughput for a given number of users relative to the available spectrum in that area. The maximum throughput needed for many users on a 4G tower will be much higher than it is for 3G, it isn't the same or less.

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Again, this is only true on very short time intervals. If you're an AT&T user throttled after 2GB per month you simply aren't going to be using 4G speed for more than a single coffee break per month.

In the real world, of course, people rarely download data endlessly and so the main difference is that a 4G user will use data at a higher rate for a shorter period of time since they're downloading the same YouTube video as the 3G user.

Since 4G takes considerably less time to establish connections than 3G, this trend is even more favorable to network operators since more phones can go from passive to active and back in any given time interval.

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