AT&T has best 3G network? Really? No way…
By Danny Mendez
In a recent Computerworld test, AT&T was determined to have the “best” 3G network, leaving its competitors “in the dust”. This is pretty surprising since the iPhone carrier is known to generally suck…
In the interest of fairness, we should point out a couple flaws in Computerworld’s 3G test. First of all, it was conducted within a 50 mile radius of midtown Manhattan’s urban canyons, so the results only count for that area. As you may or may not know, most of the rest of the United States is situated outside of that area.
Furthermore, there wasn’t a reception component to the test. What good is a speedy signal if you can’t connect to it? We can’t speak for the rest of the country, but in Southern California, going with AT&T generally means giving up reception indoors. Computerworld also didn’t take into consideration T-Mobile’s new 3G network.
But all criticism aside, the results of the test were surprising considering Verizon and Sprint utilize the theoretically “superior” EV-DO technology. AT&T won the peak download speed category, which measured the fastest download speed experienced by the testers.
- AT&T: 1.6Mbit/sec
- Verizon: 1.3Mbit/sec
- Sprint: 1.2Mbit/sec
AT&T also bested Verizon and Sprint in the average download speed category.
- AT&T: 755Kbit/sec
- Verizon: 592Kbit/sec
- Sprint: 494Kbit/sec
The laptop connected to AT&T’s network the faster than the others, but Sprint didn’t finish last this time.
- AT&T: 3 seconds
- Sprint: 3.7 seconds
- Verizon: 5.6 seconds
The iPhone overlord also took gold for the average upload speed category, but Sprint loaded web pages more quickly than the others. Verizon taxed the battery on the laptop the least, but the EV-DO adapter used with Verizon’s service may be the reason behind the victory. A change in the adapter used with any of these networks could modify the results of the tests significantly.
Though we applaud AT&T for the good work it’s done with its 3G network in New York, we can’t recommend AT&T for anyone outside of New England. Frankly, AT&T sucks on the West Coast, and we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t point that out again.
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September 10th, 2008
Actually, AT&T sucks on the east coast as well. I live in lower Manhattan, and have seen and heard horror stories from friends with AT&T. Even with five bars they get no reception and are constantly dropping calls.
So yeah, AT&T sucks. Pretty much everywhere.
For the record, I have Verizon and get reception just about everywhere, and have had only one dropped call that I can remember. That was when I stepped into an elevator.