at&t 3G speeds in Columbia, MO

I currently have Verizon and am thinking of switching to at&t due to the fact that my bill is so high and that thiker service has plunged downhill since their purchase of Alltel.

My question is what kinds of data speeds do you see on your phone in Columbia (smartphones only please). I am also interested in if you drop calls and how often if so. Please use the format of:

Time, speed (up and down), area of town, and if you know the latency state it.



Thank you,


Chris

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› See More: at&t 3G speeds in Columbia, MO

I was there on vacation last week and i was getting pretty fast speeds, at least 3 times tthat of edge

AT&T has what is called "universal speeds". This means if you get good coverage, then you get good speeds. This also means that the speeds would remain about the same, no matter where you travel.

Verizon Wireless has a similar thing, except some areas may still have a mildly slower 3G network (most of the time, they all have the faster Rev. A). Verizon Wireless also has a larger 3G network than AT&T.

Based on their website maps, they have nearly identical coverage. AT&T states that the voice quality of the calls is "fair" in some areas and "poor" on the outside areas. Both state 3G is relatively available.

I also pulled up that area in my system here. Where I work I'm capable of accessing important data information, some of which I'm available to provide.

Average 3G data speeds for AT&T in your area was last recorded on Wednesday March 24, 2010. Please note specific date and time is not relevant since data speeds do not vary greatly. The download speeds was 754 kbps at the center of Columbia. It also says that Columbia has had recent technical difficulties with cell sites and techs are on it.

The average 3G data speeds for Verizon Wireless in your area was recorded on Friday, March 26, 2010. The average download speeds were 1067 kbps.

According to this, there are plans to build 3 cell sites in Columbia, MO by July 2011.

All data is routinely polled by the system and is automatically updated here on a weekly, sometimes biweekly, basis.

just because they have the same speed capability at the tower does not mean that the end-user sees the same speeds.... factors such as congestion and actual backhaul can really cripple a tower and your connection.

chris

Actually, it does mean they will experience the same speeds.
(sorry that statement seemed a bit cocky, didn't intend it to be).

What happens is a "lost data connected" whenever they get overloaded. Users who have been on the internet the longest may notice an instant drop of service and they may not be able to connect for several minutes. This is how they maintain the same speeds. Remember it is "roughly" the same speeds...With Verizon Wireless, you would see in the morning you have 3MBPS and in the afternoon you get 1.5MBPS. With AT&T you might see 2.0MBPS in the morning and 1.9MBPS in the afternoon.

Originally Posted by chrisoverly

just because they have the same speed capability at the tower does not mean that the end-user sees the same speeds.... factors such as congestion and actual backhaul can really cripple a tower and your connection.

chris