Latest news with #L4S
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
T-Mobile's 5G Will Soon Get Better for Gaming and Video Calls
If you're frustrated with video calls or online gaming sessions that drop in and out, you may find a new upgrade from T-Mobile is going to improve your experience. The carrier is rolling out a new low-latency tech to its 5G network to reduce choppiness during intensive tasks. The technology is called L4S, and it's designed to improve delays stemming from network congestion which give you a stop and start experience in some apps. L4S means "Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable Throughput." T-Mobile's blog post says, 'L4S consistently delivers low latency, minimal packet loss and real-time responsiveness — even under heavy traffic. It's a major step forward for performance-driven use cases where every millisecond matters, including cloud gaming, video calling, Extended Reality (XR) and even remote driving.' T-Mobile is leaning in to next-gen tech, such as remote driving, to talk about L4S with an ad showing what it can do, but many people will first experience the benefits through everyday experiences like FaceTime and other video calling apps. T-Mobile announced its rollout this week, but it says the tech has previously been available for some in its real-life testing. That may mean you have already used it without realizing. T-Mobile is the first US carrier to offer L4S, but it has been previously introduced elsewhere in the world, including Germany and the United Arab Emirates. There's no word yet from AT&T or Verizon whether this tech will be coming to those carriers. Exactly when you'll get to use L4S is unclear as T-Mobile has only said it is beginning to rollout across the US from now. There's no clear roadmap or news of whether T-Mobile is beginning with specific regions. It's also unlikely you'll know when you're using L4S. As with a lot of carrier tech, it can be difficult to know when an upgrade has begun to work as it's not clearly labelled as that new tech. The good news is you won't need anything new to reap the rewards as it will work automatically on your current 5G smartphone. L4S tech has been used in wired services previously with Xfinity being one of the most recent companies to introduce it in a rollout that began earlier this year.
Android Authority
22-07-2025
- Android Authority
T-Mobile's latest 5G network upgrades mean smoother video calls and online games
Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR T-Mobile is the first US-based carrier to upgrade to a new 'L4S' network technology, which reduces latency in its 5G networks. L4S improves upon existing technologies by decongesting networks in real-time, prioritizing applications that require faster internet. Thankfully, you don't need to upgrade to newer hardware to use T-Mobile's new low-latency tech. Choppy video calls or online games are among the most wicked ways to ruin someone's mood. Every carrier wants to avoid doing that, which results in the never-ending race to test and then implement newer network technologies at scale. In line with these efforts, T-Mobile is upgrading its 5G networks with a new technology that will make your video calls, VR experiences, and online gaming smoother and almost jitter-free. T-Mobile says it is the first carrier in the US to implement the L4S standard designed to decrease unwanted delays in transmission. L4S stands for 'Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable throughput,' and decongests networks by allowing faster movements of data packets for specific applications in real-time. This is an improvement over existing congestion-control protocols, which first analyze packets of data and then prioritize certain apps, resulting in congestion at the receiver's end. Notably, L4S may not necessarily boost download or upload speeds on a 5G network. L4S is designed to make quicker decisions so there's no — or at least, minimal — congestion and, therefore, faster transmission. It has been available for wired networks for a while and also works with Wi-Fi networks, provided your device and Wi-Fi router support it. The upgrade occurs at its end, according to T-Mobile, which means users will be able to benefit from improved 5G connectivity without necessarily upgrading to new devices or buying more expensive data plans. These advancements are part of T-Mobile's preparations for 5G-Advanced, also known as 5.5G, which is the upcoming generation of mobile networks. While smoother video calling is one of the most significant applications of L4S, T-Mobile emphasizes its importance in extended reality (XR). Stable frame rates, made possible by the technology, reduce motion sickness or dizziness associated with virtual reality (VR) or XR headsets, or ensure higher-quality visuals in augmented reality (AR) glasses. Meanwhile, NVIDIA has already enabled L4S for its GeForce Now cloud gaming platform, and T-Mobile users should be able to enjoy more polished visuals and smoother rendering that simulates physical gaming hardware. T-Mobile adds that L4S will enable other technologies where high-speed remote access is key. One of them is remote driving, and T-Mobile shares the example of a ride-hailing company called Vay, which employs virtual operators who deliver rental vehicles to your doorstep in Berlin without physically driving the car themselves. The operator also expects to expand the technology to enterprise applications where 'ultra-responsive experiences' are crucial. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Gizmodo
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- Gizmodo
T-Mobile Upgrades Network With L4S to Improve Video Calls and Cloud Gaming
If you're a T-Mobile customer, you may have noticed that your FaceTime calls have gotten smoother. That's because the carrier announced today that it's rolling out support for a new tech called Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable Throughput (L4S) across its 5G Advanced network. T-Mobile says it's the first U.S. wireless provider to deploy L4S at scale, and it's promising a noticeable boost to video calls and cloud gaming. L4S works by helping your phone or device stay ahead of network congestion before it causes lagging or buffering. Most networks only react once things get bad. L4S flips that model by using early signals to warn devices about congestion before it becomes a problem. That lets your apps adjust in real time, keeping things smoother even in busy environments. 'L4S consistently delivers low latency, minimal packet loss and real-time responsiveness — even under heavy traffic,' John Saw, EVP and Chief Technology Officer, wrote in a blog post. 'It's a major step forward for performance-driven use cases where every millisecond matters, including cloud gaming, video calling, Extended Reality (XR) and even remote driving.' T-Mobile has been testing the feature with partners like Qualcomm and Ericsson, including a trial involving smart glasses and augmented reality. 'The results? Crystal-clear visuals, ultra-smooth frame delivery and significantly reduced motion sickness and dizziness,' wrote Saw. Nvidia's GeForce NOW has already added support for L4S to improve game streaming performance. T-Mobile also tested the new tech in real-world settings like crowded airports, claiming it reduced 'stutters, frozen frames, and garbled audio' in FaceTime and other video calls. One of the more futuristic—and impressive—uses of L4S comes from Vay, a Berlin-based company working on remote driving tech. In Las Vegas, Vay lets users rent cars through an app, which are then delivered by remote drivers controlling the vehicles from afar. 'Using our 5G Advanced network with L4S, Vay's remote drivers experience predictable, consistent latency,' wrote Saw. 'Remote drivers said it felt like they were physically in the car, even in high-traffic, congested scenarios. This kind of ultra-low lag and responsiveness is a game-changer for mobility, logistics, and time-critical safety applications.'
Phone Arena
21-07-2025
- Business
- Phone Arena
T-Mobile 5G users should expect a richer experience after rollout of new capability
T-Mobile has announced that its 5G Advanced network is getting even better with the rollout of the Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable Throughput (L4S) capability reduce latency or delay, resulting in an improved real-time experience when using immersive applications. It cuts down on lag, making the network faster, while maintaining high throughput, or the amount of data transmitted. T-Mobile began its 5G deployment with a 5G Standalone (5G SA) network, which is purpose-built for 5G workstreams and doesn't piggyback on 4G infrastructure. Most other carriers still rely on 4G cores. This not only resulted in better speeds and greater capacity, but also allowed the company to launch 5G Advanced, which is an important step in 5G technology. This new category of 5G enables better network performance.L4S is a part of 5G Advanced. It improves responsiveness and minimizes packet loss or the loss of small data units. This is crucial for use cases where response time can make or break the experience, such as when gaming or attending an online meeting. More importantly, it can be potentially life-saving in scenarios where every millisecond counts, such as remote driving. L4S isn't a new tech, but T-Mobile is the first company to use it in wireless. It allows T-Mobile 's 5G network to be more proactive, which is incredibly important for time-critical applications like remote driving, for which the carrier has partnered with the Berlin-based Vay. The company develops remote driving technology, operating cars from different locations. Implementation of L4S will also allow for the fine-tuning of other experiences, such as Extended Reality (XR) and cloud gaming. T-Mobile notes that XR has the potential to change how we work and play, but it has been help back by jitter and delays. The company has partnered with Qualcomm and Ericsson to test the performance of slim smart glasses with L4S enabled. The result was clear visuals, better frame delivery or data transmission, and reduced motion sickness. T-Mobile concluded that L4S can help take XR mainstream. L4S can also improve cloud gaming by minimising interruptions. T-Mobile says NVIDIA has already enabled L4S support in GeForce NOW to reduce latency and packet loss during gameplay. This, along with T-Mobile 's 5G Advanced network, should allow for a console-level experience when cloud gaming, even during network congestion. The tech will also improve the quality of online meetings and calls by dynamically adjusting for network congestion. This will reduce stutters, frozen frames, and distorted audio. L4S will be foundational to T-Mobile 's network slicing framework. It will also enable the network to make smarter decisions and offer customized performance tiers for XR, gaming, video, and other latency-sensitive use cases. The company also plans to bring the capabilities to enterprise offerings to unlock lag-free experiences across industries. It has also teamed up with Apple and other companies to optimize how its app works. In short, L4S is a tech to improve video streaming. As T-Mobile 's president of technology, Ulf Ewaldsson, previously said, this video priority tech will create a better video experience for different apps. He explained that during times of overload, the network will send a message to the app to ask it to adapt to the condition to ensure the video keeps playing smoothly. This will be achieved by lowering video quality, which is better than buffering or freezing. —Ulf Ewaldsson, T-Mobile 's president of technology, October 2024 T-Mobile has once again proven that it's ahead of rivals when it comes to 5G advancements. The L4S tech will hopefully reduce content load time and ensure more responsive collaboration between users. This will especially help when a network is being used by many devices at once.
The Verge
21-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Verge
T-Mobile is bringing low-latency tech to 5G for the first time
Over the next few weeks, T-Mobile is expanding support for the L4S standard, which stands for 'Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable Throughput.' The technology helps high-priority internet packets move along with fewer delays, to make video calls and cloud games feel smoother and reduce annoying hitches. Users won't need a special phone or plan to take advantage of the benefits from L4S. 'This is network-driven,' T-Mobile CTO John Saw tells The Verge. L4S is already deployed in 'many cities' on T-Mobile's 5G Advanced network, but the company is 'actively expanding' the coverage, company spokesperson Anushka Bishen says. Saw says T-Mobile is the first wireless network in the US to implement L4S. The L4S standard helps devices manage congestion with internet packets so that you're less likely to hit a pause if that congestion leads to buffering and latency, which can still become a problem even on higher bandwidth connections like upgraded 5G networks. With L4S, packets get an indicator that will get marked if they experience congestion, and devices can read those packets to make adjustments to hopefully reduce that congestion and maybe even eliminate it. Saw used a car analogy to help explain it: 'In the olden days, you used reactive braking when traffic slows down. L4S is more like dynamic cruise control, where the car actually automatically slows down and speeds up without you having to jump in.' If you want to read more, my former colleague Mitchell Clark has a detailed explainer of how it's supposed to help. For users, this means that applications that support L4S should experience less latency. In a blog post, Saw highlights how L4S can benefit things like Nvidia's GeForce Now and Apple's FaceTime calls. Both Nvidia and Apple also worked with Comcast during its trials of L4S, and Comcast started rolling out L4S to some cities earlier this year.
