AT&T Leads With Fastest Network, Claims They'll Get Even Better

By WC Staff
last updated

This is a little unexpected: Computerworld took the top mobile competitors and ran a speed test with Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon. The test was conducted in the tri-state area in New York, New Jersey, and even Connecticut. The tests were performed with the same equipment as to not have a biased out come.

The surprise: AT&T beat out EVDO Rev A. Guess they didn

WC Staff
WC Staff
3 Comments
  • You don't say how much faster than Sprint. Also you fail to mention the small overall footprint of Att high speed vs. Sprint, Verizon and Alltell EVDO networks.
  • For what it's worth, real world users who have commented on the article at ComputerWorld oddly enough are saying it is actually the other way round for them.
    Here are some comments:
    "We conducted similar tests but had opposite results w/ the 3 carriers. We have over a hundred field offices in tier 1 and tier 2 cities across the country. In our testing the Sprint and Verizon air cards were comparable performance-wise. Both Sprint and VZ averaged roughly twice the download speed as the AT&T cards in all but 3 of our field offices nationwide. The AT&T cards delivered average download speeds of around 6-700K during testing in our testing. AT&T never consistently delivered the average high speeds you reported in any location tested. In an effort to standardize your testing, at minimum, you should have limited your testing to PC card-type hardware."
    Another comment:
    "I find it interesting that it is the opposite here on the west coast. I our area AT&T does not have a reliable network. Verizon has been promising EVDO for more than two years, and is still promising. Basically for data Sprint is the winner by a large margin.
    I am a Verizon customer for my cel phone, but I will go to Sprint soon just for their data connection and I will probably take the phone along to have a single bill.
    If I was a Sprint employee, I would be concerned about this report. The card picked for their network is in my opinion inferior to the cards picked for the other two. I have used a Novatel card on Sprint and it was returned to get a Sierra card, they just work much better and get faster connections. I also would suggest the PC Card over the USB connection unless you really need the USB for some reason.
    Just my 2 cents."
    And more:
    "I would have expected far better sampling for both locations and card types out of a magazine such as Computer World! As a professional tester in both wire-line and wireless data industries for over a decade, I have had the opportunity to experience many different networks and access methods. The access device is what was really tested here not the backend networks.
    To put this in the context of the computer industry, the results of this ?test? are the equivalent of walking into Kmart and turning on three different desktops and timing how long they take to boot to Window with a stop watch.
    I would suggest you as a consumer do your own investigation. Take time to talk with a knowledgeable sale representative and test different access devices in the area you will most often use the device. As a note ? I own two different access devices both on the Sprint network ? from my experience ? their network far exceeds that of AT&T.
    Ciao"
    Very interesting and varying views.
  • My buddy is now using a BB on ATT after using the 8525, the precursor to the Tilt?
    I use Verizon. Speeds are close, but he says verizon still has the edge.
    IMHO these tests are always biased in someway or form.