# Vzw: 3G+Voice Simultaneously?



## cid` (Jun 15, 2011)

We know that the 4g radio is separate, so it can do 4g+voice fine, but any word if it will handle 3g + voice simultaneously?


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## StealthVoodoo (Jun 6, 2011)

Ya know, I haven't seen any mention of SVDO (the ability to do Voice/Data over 3G). Not a major concern for me as I live in a 4G area, but it was nice before 4G lit up.


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## fakiesk8r333 (Aug 7, 2011)

really interested in this as well, VZW really needs to start implementing this in all future phones. It kinda sucks when i have to hang up with someone just to look up a number or directions lol


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## psycho_maniac (Jun 9, 2011)

I agree. Its a pretty neat feature. I used to think it was dumb, but i dont mind it now lol


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## ERIFNOMI (Jun 30, 2011)

Can't say I've ever used it but it is nice to have. As far as I know the Thunderbolt has been the only SVDO phone. We haven't heard anything from Verizon other than they're getting it sometime latter this year so who knows.


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## cid` (Jun 15, 2011)

its really laughable that we dont have that feature and it has to be asked for, compared to standard gsm networks

I've always been asked why I dont like vzw.. and ive always explained it as that their cell towers are all vcr's while every other network is dvd.. they just acquired all the old vcr towers and have the most of them.. guess it holds true to this day..


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## brad_gog (Oct 27, 2011)

As a Thunderbolt owner I can say YES this works for both 3G and 4G, and it works very well....it is very nice to have data and Voice, you will realize this the first time you are on the phone and using navigation or want to look something up on the internet.


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## ERIFNOMI (Jun 30, 2011)

brad_gog said:


> As a Thunderbolt owner I can say YES this works for both 3G and 4G, and it works very well....it is very nice to have data and Voice, you will realize this the first time you are on the phone and using navigation or want to look something up on the internet.


It's called SV-DO and I have it but don't use it. I don't usually make calls though. The one time I could have used it I was on WiFi so it didn't matter. It is a nice feature to have though.


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## Mexiken (Jul 23, 2011)

There has been no mention of eHRPD in any phone since the TBolt. Its not on the Droid RAZR and it's most likely not gonna be on the Galaxy Nexus either. You have to remember that it's another radio you're cramming into an already super slim device. Probably not gonna happen.


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## dustinb17 (Jun 10, 2011)

I find it beneficial when I'm in the process of uploading/downloading a file and I get a call. It's Nice that it doesn't get interrupted and have to start over, especially with larger files on 3G.


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## teh_g (Jun 6, 2011)

If you are in a 4G area, the phone will use the CDMA radio for voice and the LTE radio for data. CDMA does not allow for voice and data to be transmitted at the same time, thus the need for two radios.


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## Jaxidian (Jun 6, 2011)

teh_g said:


> If you are in a 4G area, the phone will use the CDMA radio for voice and the LTE radio for data. CDMA does not allow for voice and data to be transmitted at the same time, thus the need for two radios.


My understanding is that CDMA does allow this but it requires 2 separate radios, which the tbolt and only the tbolt has. My understanding is that the only reason nothing else has this is simply because it requires a little bit of extra hardware (i.e. cost), and battery drain (i.e. customer complaints), which they've decided isn't worth it after the battery life problems that the (non-rooted) tbolt has.


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## Mexiken (Jul 23, 2011)

Jaxidian said:


> My understanding is that CDMA does allow this but it requires 2 separate radios, which the tbolt and only the tbolt has. My understanding is that the only reason nothing else has this is simply because it requires a little bit of extra hardware (i.e. cost), and battery drain (i.e. customer complaints), which they've decided isn't worth it after the battery life problems that the (non-rooted) tbolt has.


You're close here. When in 4G coverage, yes, the phone uses LTE for data and CDMA for data. VO-LTE standard protocols have yet to be exacted/agreed upon by US carriers.

The 2 separate radios you speak of aren't used how you think (one for voice, one for data). The traditional CDMA radio is there (the one that does NOT support voice + data simultaneously) but the OTHER 3G radio is an eHRPD radio, which is basically the CDMA equivalent of HSDPA AND HSUPA (roughly stated). This radio DOES do voice + data via voice over IP as this protocol is strictly data. There is no voice component to it, unlike CDMA.

Verizon spent a LOT of money building out this protocol on their towers so that customers wouldn't be fragmented with the, "my phone can do both voice and data, but only on 4G" argument, but unfortunately, both the network and experience aren't up to the rest of the network's standards, so it's not touted very much. I would speculate that's also why you don't see it integrated into more phones.

Hope this helps.


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## Jaxidian (Jun 6, 2011)

Mexiken said:


> You're close here. When in 4G coverage, yes, the phone uses LTE for data and CDMA for data. VO-LTE standard protocols have yet to be exacted/agreed upon by US carriers.
> 
> The 2 separate radios you speak of aren't used how you think (one for voice, one for data). The traditional CDMA radio is there (the one that does NOT support voice + data simultaneously) but the OTHER 3G radio is an eHRPD radio, which is basically the CDMA equivalent of HSDPA AND HSUPA (roughly stated). This radio DOES do voice + data via voice over IP as this protocol is strictly data. There is no voice component to it, unlike CDMA.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the clarifications/corrections. So on the tbolt, both work due to eHRPD and not due to multiple radios.

However, if we threw that out the window, both on CDMA is possible with dual radios working "how I would think", right? And my understanding is that the reason phones don't do this is that the tradeoff in cost (and other stuff) isn't worth it.


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## Mexiken (Jul 23, 2011)

Jaxidian said:


> Thanks for the clarifications/corrections. So on the tbolt, both work due to eHRPD and not due to multiple radios.
> 
> However, if we threw that out the window, both on CDMA is possible with dual radios working "how I would think", right? And my understanding is that the reason phones don't do this is that the tradeoff in cost (and other stuff) isn't worth it.


When in 3G coverage, yes, that is correct. Most of the towers with also have eHRPD on them now.

Over 4G, it's as stated. LTE for data, fallback to CDMA for voice.

The real reason for OEMs is probably cost, size, power consumption, etc.

The reason for Verizon not really requiring/pushing (from what I've read internally) is that the experience isn't as consistent as they'd like it to be and it's not something they're told to advertise/sell based on.

It sounds like a failed experiment to me.


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