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By now we have all heard about how each cellular carrier is superb to the other and they do a great job at promoting their beliefs – by constantly airing commercials, buying web presence and saturating every form of media, we are all aware how Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile all have the best coverage and fastest speeds around. Unfortunately, there are a number of different factors that go into determining which network is best for whom, including what phone they may have, where they live and what they use their phones for on a day-to-day basis.

Both Verizon and AT&T, the two largest cell phone carriers in the US, have been bragging especially loudly recently due to the unveiling of their 4G LTE networks that claim to increase network speeds by an enormous amount when compared to traditional 3G infrastructure. Even though LTE (short for Long Term Evolution) is essentially a standard technology and will ultimately lead to a global standard in which every carrier runs on identical networks, our current systems are playing catch-up to this trend and therefore still have some differences. What exactly are the differences between the two cell giants' technologies at the moment and what does it mean for you?

Verizon's LTE Network

One of the biggest misconceptions about Verizon's 4G LTE network is that it is, in fact, a 4G network. While Verizon has made serious upgrades to its network over the past year, the standards of 3GPP LTE are that of, well, take a look at the first two characters of '3GPP'. However, in the near future Verizon will have a truly-compliant 4G network due to newer releases of LTE (LTE Advanced) which will be applied more like a software patch than a complete renovation of physical infrastructure.

This is not to say that Verizon's network is not much faster with the new LTE technology. Reliable, consistent speed averages from various major metropolitan areas show an increase of 1000% when compared to the 3G infrastructure. These are huge accomplishments considering that LTE technology can only be integrated into existing networks that use GSM/EDGE (AT&T, T-Mobile); Verizon had to build its existing LTE infrastructure from scratch due to its past reliance on CDMA technology.

AT&T's LTE Network

Similar to Verizon, AT&T's network is also only 3G in name but much like its counterpart, it will have an actual 4G LTE system in place in the coming years when upgrades to the technology are made. AT&T's version of “4G” is a combination of HSPA & LTE technologies that allow for an increased amount of traffic to flow at faster rates. Whereas Verizon's 3G technology (CDMA) is incompatible with its LTE network, AT&T's GSM technology is built to utilize LTE and allows for 4G/LTE phones to function on older GSM technologies.

Essentially, 4G phones are able to use the LTE technology on AT&T's network for the majority of the data transfer but can also utilize HSPA in combination to increase the overall speed at which pages and files download. Generally speaking, this leads to faster download rates but can vary depending on the strength of your connection, the backbone of the network in your area and the phone you are using. For example, while 4G/LTE phones can utilize 3G (HSPA) technology, 3G phones do not benefit from the LTE network.

Pros and Cons to Verizon

Based on nationwide averages, Verizon has the fastest network overall. Its newly-constructed LTE network is isolated from the rest of the carrier's 3G traffic and that leads to more bandwidth for each user to enjoy. If you live in a medium-to-large city, you can expect great results with this carrier and will probably see download speeds in excess of 7 times faster than traditional 3G speeds.

Verizon's network has some downsides as well, such as not being able to utilize its 3G technology and network in conjunction with its LTE service. What this means for the average user is when he or she leaves (or does not live near) a major metropolitan area, there is a greater chance that the overall speed of the network will decrease substantially (and in many cases, drop down to 3G). Verizon also has a lower area of LTE due to its newly-created infrastructure that does not yet cover the entire country as well as AT&T's.

Pros and Cons to AT&T

AT&T's network utilizes the best of both worlds and any 4G/LTE phone can use both LTE & HSPA at the same time, leading to an overall faster experience with both upload and download speeds. In some of the biggest cities, AT&T's data speeds blow Verizon out of the water due to this effect. Since AT&T's entire network is GSM and therefore fairly easily upgraded when future versions of LTE become available, it is likely to hold an edge in terms of LTE coverage and speed in large areas for quite some time.

While AT&T's data network covers a greater percentage of the populace, its LTE service is not as widely available as Verizon's. Since AT&T has been able to “upgrade as they go”, they have not been nearly as motivated as Verizon to unveil it across its entire network. When it comes to rural areas, AT&T LTE is practically non-existent.

The Verdict

Here is a video we put together to demonstrate the differences in download and upload speed on AT&T and Verizon. The video was shot in a suburb of Philadelphia.



In this case, Verizon was faster. However, it all comes down to your specific situation. If you live in one of the large cities (New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Philadelphia), AT&T is your best bet; they have superior coverage and faster speeds in virtually every test. If you reside in a smaller but still large city (San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, Boston), Verizon will most likely beat AT&T's combo network due to its newly-constructed infrastructure and the lack of sharing bandwidth with 3G traffic. The same goes for those living in large suburban areas or medium-sized towns; Verizon has a better game. Lastly, for anyone dwelling in rural areas, AT&T tends to have better coverage overall but has a weaker LTE presence.
Comments 1 Comment
  1. greenorange's Avatar
    greenorange -
    This is all quite new to me and this post actually opened my eyes.Thanks for sharing with us your wisdom.


    See More: Article: 4G Technology: AT&T versus Verizon
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