AT&T iPhone beats Verizon in nationwide 3G speed tests

This isn't a surprise at all. EV-DO Rev. A can't hold a candle to HSPA. For the time being that the iPhone operates on Verizon's 3G network, it won't be as fast as AT&T's version.

As much as I would like faster web speed on my phone, I can live with it. AT&T is not an option for me, so I'll take Verizon's speed limitation for now. LTE is here and progressing as we speak. This won't be a disadvantage for Verizon much longer (even if an LTE iPhone is more than a year away), IMO.

 

I feel this is more insulting to at&t than Verizon. It clearly concludes that if you want a dependable voice service use Verizon but if you want it for Media purposes then at&t is better.

At least that's the way it comes across to me. At&t works better than Verizon in my area but if it was the other way, I certainly would not sacrifice better coverage for faster downloads. So if the VeriPhoneopened up a can worms it is that Verizon has better coverage and also verifying the Blue map with lots of holes that Verizon uses for the negative campaign.

 

AT&T is usually faster, but not always at a reliable rate (anyone in NYC will tell you that). Also, don't fall for their "4G" nonsense. Their latest "4G" device, the Inspire 4G doesnt even have HSUPA, only HSDPA. What a crock.

 

I can't vouch for/against AT&T for network speed as I only had them for prepaid as speed is mostly throttled for prepaid users. I was able to get a 3G signal when I had my Nokia in Tallahassee and Atlanta but speeds were mostly EDGE or GPRS.

I am sure AT&T is faster in theory, but I'd rather have more 3G in more places than super fast in a handful of places.

I can definitely tell that Verizon 4G is in Atlanta... I was pulling 2.5M down and 1M up in East Point. Also, Verizon has gotten better in Tallahassee. I was only getting 500-700K here. I normally get 1.5M now The AT&T users here are generally happy as well. Their 3G has greatly expanded to the delight of their users.

 

I'm not surprised by it at all - nowhere have I seen any contention that Verizon's network is/was ever viewed as being as fast as data can be on at&t - where at&t's network works well. Of course, I can't speak for the CNN readers who don't frequent any of the wireless forums, but on the wireless forums that I visit I'd be surprised if these findings come as a great shock to the regular members. But to your point, maybe 1/2 the speed on Verizon would be a large difference to many users - as I don't recall ever really seeing thoughts/comments re: users' actual experiences quantified in that manner.

The pervasive sentiments that I've seen are all along the lines of "I wish at&t's 3G coverage/service was adequate for me, as sure - I'd prefer the faster data speeds and ability for simultaneous voice and data. However what's most important is consistently having voice and data service - and I don't get that with at&t." (Primarily from users in marginal 3G areas, or they are in a well-covered 3G area, but one where network congestion consistently creates issues.)

I don't know whether data on Verizon would be faster for me or not - but what I do know is my new 3G device (non-smartphone SE W518a) is no faster than my older 2G SE W580i. And it is using the HSPA network ("H" icon is present as is the simultaneous use of voice and data). Very disappointing, as it seems like at&t may be throttling data speeds (at least in some areas) on non-smartphone devices in order to help manage their network resources.

And it really doesn't matter what at&t's 3G speeds are capable of when you are in an area where you have to turn off the 3G network access in order to effectively use your phone - which many at&t users still have to do.

 

Thanks hme for your insightful post and specially from someone that has to put up with the crying that takes place on the at&t forums every day.

 

No one chimed in to say "wow" to 1800kbps because that is an easily achievable number of EVDO. When I am home in NYC with my Droid2, I routinely pull in near or over 2000kbps without problem (probably because of the added backhaul from LTE). Sure, here in Michigan the vzw EVDO network is a total wreck and I sometimes have trouble getting any data, but that is not the norm, most areas have pretty good speeds.
Just watch one of the many speed test comparisons done between the iphone AT&T and vzw versions. Videos - Free video downloads and streaming video - CNET TV
Heck, in that video, the vzw iphone constantly was faster than the AT&T version, sometimes much faster (518kbpz vs. 40kbps(!?!?) , 440kbps v. 189kbps, 651kbps v. 116kbps, 543 kbps v. 120 kbps)
Just because you can get 2x the speeds does not mean you ever will.

 

The article first came out on February 17 on wired.com. My first and continued reaction was that it was basically calling at&t's coverage inferior. Here is the writer's previous article.

The iPhone Is Now a Phone. Who

Btw, I just did a random speed test and got 2.9 mb and 1.8 mb down and up and -77dbm, so I have the best of both world in our little one-horse town.

Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.1-update1; en-ca; SonyEricssonX10a Build/2.1.A.0.435) AppleWebKit/530.17 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/530.17

 

Nice article. Here is an excerpt from it: "However, the AT&T iPhone completely failed multiple tests when it could not connect to the network, whereas the Verizon iPhone was able to successfully get a connection in every location and complete every test. That’s important."

That is the major problem with AT&T. When it works, it's usually pretty good, but it does not work far too often. My other gripe is that in places like Michigan and most of the country, their 3G coverage only covers major cities and towns, and there is very little connecting coverage between them. Like here in Lansing, 3G covers the city center and immediate suburbs, but once you go north, south, or west, 3G stops and you drop to EDGE or even GRPS. I'm sure they will eventually fill these areas in, but remember, Verizons entire network is EVDO.

 

I think the theory that AT&T is always faster than Verizon stems from the past few years. Speeds on Verizon were much slower, only speeding up when they rolled out the LTE network, and gave much more bandwidth to the 3G network as well. The problem for AT&T is also dropping calls. This happens frequently in NYC, and since they are on the 850 band, it shouldn't.
I do not know what the problem with AT&T in San Fran is, I assume it is just an over abundance of yuppies with iphones on the AT&T network, and it simply can't deal with the number of users.

 

Down where I am for a good portion of the day, Verizon has the best signal and speeds in the area. ATT has EDGE in this area if you are lucky to get a signal. ATT's closest 3G coverage is 25 miles west of the area. So I have both good data speeds and a solid network. :biggrin: Also, like it says in the article, I care more about the voice quality and calls.

Here are the speeds that I can get pretty easily with Verizon:

Speed test 1:



Speed test 2:



Speed test 3:



Speed test 4:

 

Here is me in Michigan



Here is my in NYC (disregard the wifi symbol, that was only on why I uploaded the pics)

 

Nice speeds, Yankees. Thanks for sharing them.

 

I just wish I could get anything like that anymore here in Michigan. Stupid Alltel merger

 

You're welcome.

 

I think the bulk of the millions of smartphone users won't notice a difference between 1769 and 848 kbps in practical use.

 

Absolutely not. Maybe you just aren't reading WA enough ...or only reading the articles with "iPhone" in the title? In fact just 2 weeks ago I posted this:

http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/w...g-4g-speed-test-every-carrier.html#post560714

detailing differences in 3G and 4G networks. I've posted similar things many, many times in the past as well. Personally I don't really like EVDO, that's Verizon's and Sprints "3G" technology, being called "3G" because it's an extension of their 2G network. UMTS is a completely new and separate 3G network from the 2G GSM network (I know, I've brought down 3G networks from the network side, but GSM stayed up and running )

 

I was getting these speeds last year in my area. In congested areas (i.e. lots of people using cell phones during peak usage time, etc.), I get between 800-1600 Kbps for my download speed and 500-700 Kbps for my upload speed. Again this is in congested areas (i.e. downtown, main roads in busy shopping areas, near malls, etc). In areas that are not as congested I get between 1700-2500 Kbps download and 700-900 Kbps upload. So I am still happy with my speeds even though they may or may not be as fast as ATT. Also when I am in a particular area, my speed results are pretty consistent whereas with ATT (when I used to have them) they were all over the board. Also one interesting side note is that my neighbor who has ATT and the iPhone 4 told me the other day that his signals in my neighborhood and data speeds are getting worse and aren't as good as they used to be. I found that to be quite interesting, since he has never complained of those issues before. As for explaining my results, I posted real world results in my area so no explanation is needed. There are several factors that will affect the speed results (distance to tower, tower congestion, being indoors vs. outdoors, number of users on the tower, etc. etc.). So again, it depends on what works the best in your area and even though articles on the internet may state something, it is always not necessarily true and may or may not apply to everyone.

 

Well, a good starting place is to know the technical specifications and limitations. I think EVDO being capped at 3Mbps is pretty important to know. As is that HSPA can deliver anywhere between 6Mbps-21Mbps right now. Of course everyone's mileage is going to vary, depending on where you are, and what time of the day you try to connect. People here on WA quite often share their data connection speeds. I've seen alot of SpeedNet test results here on WA all the time. If you want to get a feel for your local area, ask your friends or make tests for yourself, in exactly the places you want to be.

Thanks for appreciating my sarcasm :thumb:. And please, call me RR, we're all friends here

 

My feeling is that presuming you are in a one-horse town that is lucky enough to have gotten at&t 3G, that's probably the best situation to be in. lol. I get much better service in OKC than I do every time I go to Dallas. At least I can consistently get a data connection again (after 2.5 years of inconsistency) in OKC these days (even if it's at 2G speeds on a 3G device); in Dallas it's completely hit and miss - in AT&T's own backyard. (Same experience in the Miami, FL area as well the last time I was there - although it was a couple of years ago. Key West - no problems whatsoever.)

And generally speaking, that seems to fairly closely mirror what I see posted on various forums as well - users on at&t outside of the major metropolitan areas seem to consistently have the better experience if 3G coverage has made it to their area.

 

The speeds I posted were before the vzw iphone was even announced, November or December of this past year. When I go back to those places (last time was early Feb.) I did not notice a difference.

 

Ha-ha, that's your first post in months that made me smile, instead of the usual slapping my forehead with my hand