Comments on: Which is the Best 3G Network in the U.S.?

By: AllanCJ

AllanCJ — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:25:57 +0000

The variability of 3G takes some getting used to. In the UK, if you’re serious about mobile connectivity, you really need to have accounts with more than one operator. In the days when you could only get subscription accounts, that was too expensive for ordinary mortals. But as the prices have tumbled a lot and pat-as-you-go deals have been introduced by most operators, it’s not unreasonable to have PAYG dongles from different operators, which increases your chances of getting something usable when you’re out and about.

All the same, once you’re out of urban areas, all you’re likely to get is GPRS, and that’s almost unusable.

By: informed

informed — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:07:23 +0000

Your friends over at Engadget need to stay off the crack-pipe. Engadgets so-called test are completely manufactured.

By: GoodThings2Life

GoodThings2Life — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:56:01 +0000

I’m in Youngstown, OH, and I have the same experience as you…. Alltel/Verizon coverage is pretty solid (I just dislike the way Verizon overcharges for gimped phones), and Sprint’s is right in line here, since it can at least roam to the Verizon/Alltel towers.

Meanwhile, AT&T and T-Mobile absolutely suck here.

By: Buzz Bruggeman

Buzz Bruggeman — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:46 +0000

I had the T-Mobile 3G USB dongle for two weeks and returned it. Even though T-Mobile is HQed here in Seattle, coverage was iffy. I now have the MiFi from Verizon, and it works brilliantly. 5 days of use = about 75 megs of data. I take it and use it everywhere.
Download speeds per Speak Easy are 1.2-2.0 Megs. Upload ranges from 400k-600k.

Highly recommended so far..

By: John

John — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:28:01 +0000

For the sake of disclosure I am working under contract to Telstra.

By: John

John — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:25:12 +0000

Interesting. In Australia we have the Big Ex government company Telstra then the “smaller” competitors. My phone is with Optus, my wireless broadband is with Vodafone. I am astounded at the poor service and coverage of both of these. My sone deserted Optus ercently and returned to Telstra and his speed, reliability and coverage went up dramatically. Telstra is more expensive but in this case you definitely pay for what you get.

By: Gary

Gary — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:50:00 +0000

I agree with Joe’s comment. The Engadget comparison was pretty poor and paled in comparison to the one that Gizmodo do a few months back. My experience with Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T was very similar to yours. I’m surprised that they performed no real world tests and basically relied on stat sheet information to create their comparison.

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:25:20 +0000

I actually thought that this was an absolutely horrible comparison. They don’t say anything about the locations that they tested in.

It’s slightly dated now, but Gizmodo’s was much better.

http://gizmodo.com/5111989/the-definitive-coast+to+coast-3g-data-test