AT&T beats Verizon in 3G speed? Interesting

[Musky]

Interesting article:

AT&T vs Verizon

 

[3devious]

Everyone who's looked at the best case stats knows that.

 

[Vihzel]

I am SHOCKED! Well now I can't use my Verizon has 2x the 3G speed as AT&T argument anymore. Damn!

 

[3devious]

Well you could argue that downloads arrive 2x faster because you stay connected longer.

That article is a good note for people who don't look that stuff up before they choose a carrier as people used to primarily are about voice services. It's a nice reminder to everyone, including Verizon that "What got you here won't get you there."

 

[ballisticn8]

I like data but I also liked being able to make and receive calls and At&t couldnt deliver that for me... 2x data speeds only work when you could get a good signal, I have a better signal in more area with VZW than I ever did with At&t so I stick with them.

 

[shawn1224]

AT&T has always had the fastest data so that's no surprise. I get around 3.1Mbps consistently in the Houston area on my Inspire 4G (yea it says 4G but realistically it's just 3G speeds until the enhanced backhaul is complete).

 

[bigbadwulff]

1) Who conducted the test?
2) What areas were selected and why?

You can prove just about anything by setting the test up for one side to look better. And that goes both ways.

How do you think all these insurance companies claim the people that switched to them save $500? Because they hand-picked the the data, that's how.

 

[Dark Jedi]

Well AT&T may have faster speeds but AT&T has the worst 3g coverage through out the USA. SO what good is having the faster 3g if its not even in your area?

 

[EarlyMon]

Well AT&T may have faster speeds but AT&T has the worst 3g coverage through out the USA. SO what good is having the faster 3g if its not even in your area?

Could you repeat that? My ATT phone dropped your call, and then the data download I was using stopped 3/4 done.

 

[cipher6]

Seems this only surprises fanboys.

"I think that's the story I expected to see," said Doug Suttles, co-founder of Ookla. "Verizon has never talked up their speed, but they always talk up coverage and reliability.... I think the story is quality versus throughput: What are you after?"

 

[3devious]

1) Who conducted the test?
2) What areas were selected and why?

You can prove just about anything by setting the test up for one side to look better. And that goes both ways.

How do you think all these insurance companies claim the people that switched to them save $500? Because they hand-picked the the data, that's how.

It isn't just the tests. Look at the promised burst speeds even. I was sad to see how low ours are, but at the time I was more concerned about availability. In my area that is pretty much worked out except for Sprint (and that is still a small pocket that is probably only important to a few people.)

 

[Outlaw71]

Hmmmm... after running 5 speedtests in ten minutes I averaged 1400 kbps down and 900 up..... does that mean the X is faster than the iPhone?

 

[novox77]

In the numerous "iphone on verizon" articles I've read, pretty much all reviewers are in concensus that at&t's 3G is faster than verizon's, but verizon is more reliable.

I'm happy with Sprint. So I'm just munching my popcorn here.

 

[Vihzel]

I'm not sure why they even conducted these "tests". I thought it was always known that AT&T has faster 3G data speeds. No one moves to Verizon for the sole purpose of 3G speed, especially if AT&T doesn't have 3G in your area.

 

[Hrethgir]

I had faster speeds with my iPhone 3Gs than I do with my Droid X or my friend with his Droid Incredible. But the call quality on AT&T was bad, and the constant dropped calls pissed me and my wife off. So we switched to Verizon. I'll take a little slower data speed for a more consistent connection and way better call quality.

 

[grvthang]

There are so many variables, just like how 'theoretically' cable boradband is "5x faster" than dsl. It depends on a number of factors in real-life usage.

 

[n0ct3m]

Sure, AT&T may have the better speed, but I enjoy actually getting to use my phone at my house. AT&T has never had a good reception area when I'm at and that was one of the major factors that led to me going over to Verizon.

 

[Jammy]

On my Desire with O2 UK, I generally get 2-2.5Mb/s if I have a 3G connection.

 

[mpossoff]

Well AT&T may have faster speeds but AT&T has the worst 3g coverage through out the USA. SO what good is having the faster 3g if its not even in your area?

ATT has 3G coverage in my area and it's very good. Voice is very good. If you are in my area and concerned about speed ATT should be your choice.

Why should I be concerned about 3G coverage in a region I don't live in or frequent? I frequent my area 99% of my time.

If ATT didn't offer good 3G coverage in my area then of course I wouldn't be with ATT.

 

[Knewz]

ATT network should be faster now with all the iphone converts who went to verizon. It's fast cause there's nobody on it to clog it up

 

[ElasticNinja]

carrier fanboys

 

[Snow_Fox]

I have pretty decent coverage with at&t for calls and have never had any problems.. even in places where others tell me they get 0 reception with at&t.. kinda weird.

With all that said.. I think this does raise the question how fast does your phone really need to be.

Yes I understand wanting the fastest phone possible..

but, come on... really?

do we really need 18 mbps connections on phones?..

I can't get at&t or verizon to ruin a fiber optic line to my house.. but, these companies can push insane speeds on phone?

I know a few hardcore geeks out there will tell me all the wonderful advantages of a faster more stable "xG" connection.

However, Lets be real the majority of the population would probably still never use up their phone to its full potential.

 

[Outlaw71]

Sometimes when streaming video I wish I had faster connection speed. Once 4g is up and fully operational it will be nice. Especially when streaming 1080p 3D movies and stuff like that. Of course at first it will be overkill, but fear not! Because once we have all that potential at our disposal you can bet your sweet ass they'll develop technology that can put it to good use.

Imagine having the ability to download the entire 7 seasons of 'Lost' to your phone in a matter of minutes! Ha, right now such a feat would be so daunting nobody would even consider trying to do attempt it. But once those things become possible we'll be doing those things all the time and we'll look back on today's technology in laughter asking, "how did we ever get by on such a slow ass network"???

 

[EarlyMon]

1080p on phones.

And how many phones have 1080p out HDMI or TVs to match that with DLNA?

 

[Outlaw71]

Right now, I've only heard of 1 that's coming out (can't remember which one, but there is at least one). But within the next three years (when 4g starts rolling out to most places) it will become common in smartphones. Well.... that is so long as it doesn't jump up to 2160p by then.