T-mobile smartphone speeds fastest; VZW slowest

[Wadman]

How do you do a test to see what speeds you are getting? I would like to see where I stand........

 

[yiannis]

Oh yeah, VZW 3G speeds are really slow and really sucky. It's REALLY bad when the phone lags not because it's the OG Droid but because it's getting 300kbps d/l. It's just criminal for $30.

Thanks for the constructive sarcasm. FYI my D1 goes > of 10Mbps download on WiFi and when VZW's network has less load early in the morning it often has ~50 ms latency and 2000 Kbps on 3G.

 

[hemorrdroid]

How do you do a test to see what speeds you are getting? I would like to see where I stand........

Search "Speed test" on the market

 

[yiannis]

If VZW didn't have a 4G phone it was VZW's problem not the magazine's.

It is the magazine's problem if the article is claiming to test 4G smartphone speeds.

Well these days 4G simply stands for fastest. There are no real 4G smartphones and network combinations.

So the fastest vzw offers is twice as slow as T-Mobile's.

 

[tonydelite]

If VZW didn't have a 4G phone it was VZW's problem not the magazine's.

It is the magazine's problem if the article is claiming to test 4G smartphone speeds.

Well these days 4G simply stands for fastest. There are no real 4G smartphones and network combinations.

Not true.

Newsroom • Press Release

Following a detailed evaluation against stringent technical and operational criteria, ITU has determined that “LTE-Advanced” and “WirelessMAN-Advanced” should be accorded the official designation of IMT-Advanced. As the most advanced technologies currently defined for global wireless mobile broadband communications, IMT-Advanced is considered as “4G”, although it is recognized that this term, while undefined, may also be applied to the forerunners of these technologies, LTE and WiMax, and to other evolved 3G technologies providing a substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial third generation systems now deployed. The detailed specifications of the IMT-Advanced technologies will be provided in a new ITU-R Recommendation expected in early 2012.

 

[yiannis]

It is the magazine's problem if the article is claiming to test 4G smartphone speeds.

Well these days 4G simply stands for fastest. There are no real 4G smartphones and network combinations.

Not true.

Newsroom • Press Release

Following a detailed evaluation against stringent technical and operational criteria, ITU has determined that “LTE-Advanced” and “WirelessMAN-Advanced” should be accorded the official designation of IMT-Advanced. As the most advanced technologies currently defined for global wireless mobile broadband communications, IMT-Advanced is considered as “4G”, although it is recognized that this term, while undefined, may also be applied to the forerunners of these technologies, LTE and WiMax, and to other evolved 3G technologies providing a substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial third generation systems now deployed. The detailed specifications of the IMT-Advanced technologies will be provided in a new ITU-R Recommendation expected in early 2012.

Very true. "Substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities" is vague enough.

As if it wasn't enough MY thread was intentionally labeled as "fastest". Not "fastest 4G" or "fastest 3G" or whatever terminology you might want to use.

As it stands T-mobile's network in the 13 cities tests is twice as fast as VZW's. One can try and dance around it all they want, but my thread and the essence of the article are just that.

 

[tonydelite]

Yeah, Verizon has never really been known as the fastest network. AT&T and T-Mobile are both faster.

However the coverage and reliability of the Verizon network make the speed trade-off worth it for me and many others.

Once LTE sees a massive roll-out, you might see the tables turn a bit. Hopefully Verizon will be able to be the most reliable AND the fastest.

 

[yiannis]

Yeah, Verizon has never really been known as the fastest network. AT&T and are both faster.

However the coverage and reliability of the Verizon network make the speed trade-off worth it for me and many others.

Once LTE sees a massive roll-out, you might see the tables turn a bit. Hopefully Verizon will be able to be the most reliable AND the fastest.

I'm certainly hoping so. I'm reading that LTE isn't really about speed, but about allowing the ever increasing data plan users to use significant bandwidth simultaneously and without bottlenecks and data throttling. Meanwhile my colleague's Atrix is at 1.5 Mbps and a 2 year contract with AT&T.

There will always be a need for faster, but I'm guessing that real world speeds of 5-6 Mbps with low latency would accommodate most of us. If 1Mbps (my average speed) is barely enough for a two-way video conferencing then 6 Mbps would likely suffice for 720p video-conferencing that no phone can provide. LTE currently provides that on a modem, but we'll see how it works when all of VZW's customers move...

 

[kodiak799]

There will always be a need for faster, but I'm guessing that real world speeds of 5-6 Mbps with low latency would accommodate most of us. If 1Mbps (my average speed) is barely enough for a two-way video conferencing then 6 Mbps would likely suffice for 720p video-conferencing that no phone can provide. LTE currently provides that on a modem, but we'll see how it works when all of VZW's customers move...

Netflix requires average speeds of 8-9mbps to stream hi-def movies, but that is over a PS3 for [presumably] big screen tv's. Since smartphones are so much smaller (enabling more compressed video) I would think 720p could be streamed to a handset (and possibly a tablet) with a 3mbps connection.

VZW has quoted average speeds of 5-12mbps. The question is what kind of speeds we'll get when the congestion ramps up. But I completely agree a consistent 3mbps will definitely provide a great browsing experience and probably sufficient for Netflix as well. There's really no need on a 4" handset to stream above 720p.

The other thing is signal quality is supposed to be better, enabling better penetration in buildings. That's pretty big as well.

 

[Stormy Knight]

4G Wireless Speed Tests: Which Is Really the Fastest? - PCWorld

I guess most of us like VZW because of its breadth of 3G coverage, I like to listen to internet radio and access the web when driving in remote areas, and being able to call while driving in remote areas, but wow 3G speeds are twice as fast... ugh

Yeah, but twice as fast where? Did they speedtest where T-Mobile's 3.5G coverage is lacking or next to a tower?

I don't understand why you allege a conspiracy. In the same article VZW's modems' were clearly the winners. I doubt they would be having an agenda against VZW or that they were somehow sponsored. I don't understand why people get so defensive about such a result of phone speeds.

Like you can see I've had VZW since 11/09 and while I have not been particularly happy with their speeds, I will likely join their LTE phones as long as their tiered plans don't get too crazy.

All I'm saying is VZW has wider 3G coverage than just about anyone else including T-Mobile. My brother has a "4G" phone on T-Mobile and has yet to receive a "4G" signal much less a 3G signal where I had no problems with my Droid.

My point is, T-Mobile is only faster where there is access.

 

[Stormy Knight]

How do you do a test to see what speeds you are getting? I would like to see where I stand........

Speedtest app.

 

[yiannis]

I guess you can forget this thread the T-bolt should beat the average T-mobile HSPA+ easily...

 

[kodiak799]

VZW has LTE coverage where the others don't even have 3G coverage.

Like I always say, if you travel VZW is really the only choice. If not you should explore your options locally.