What is the name of the bandwidth speed a mobile phone uses?

[newsatguy]

When you use a mobile phone to download using a data connection, what is it referred to as?

For example, with an internet connection in your home, you can download with your cable modem at 1 mb per second, 5 mb per second etc... what is the name of the measurement that they use to describe how fast you can download using a mobile phone. On data connection setting, not on wi-fi setting.

Is this a limit with the phone company like Vodafone or 3 etc.. Or is it related to the phone and its hardware, like for example the more powerful the phone, the faster the download.

The reason I ask is because I will be using a phone for tethering to a laptop or tablet. And I want my internet as fast as possible.

So when I am shopping around for a phone, I need to know what feature it is that describes a phones download speed, so I know what to look out for.

[pip08456]

It's exactly the same. Mbps. When you tether your phone you will be using it's wifi for your laptop connection.

4G is currently the fastest mobile wifi but even that differs between suppliers.

[jb66]

You would need a 4g contract and a company that allowes tethering, so dont use Virgin Mobile

[Stuart]

As noted above, mbps (megabits per second) and mBps (megabytes per second) are standard data throughput measurements, and can be used with any system for data transfer, whether on or off line, wireless or not.

You can also express your hard drive transfer speed in mBps or mbps, although the number would be rather larger than those for any internet data transfer, so they tend to use gbps (gigabits per second) and gBps (gigabytes per second).