PCWorld: AT&T 3G 67% Faster Than Competitors

[JMcEntegart]

AT&T customers are no strangers to spotty coverage and slow 3G, and it's something competitors have had no problems pointing out in the past. However, in a recent series of tests by PCWorld, AT&T has come out on top for 3G speeds.

PCWorld: AT&T 3G 67% Faster Than Competitors : Read more

 

[particleman]

Having the fastest network with the poorest coverage, is like having a car with its wheels missing..............utterly pointless and a waste of space.......

 

[drksilenc]

the test wasnt done on identical hardware. so this is a moot point.

 

[ravewulf]

I'm not buying it. You don't go from last to first place overnight. AT&T's reliability percentage looks particularly suspicious. Although, it does say in the notes that

"Reliability is expressed as the percentage of our one-minute performance tests during which the service was available, uninterrupted, and faster than dial-up speed. "

In other words, they threw out all the data that made AT&T look bad.

 

[thorimmortal]

speed is not every thing, I see no mention of ping or packet loss. That's all we need is another luke wilson commercial, Im sure they are working on one as we speak,

 

[babybeluga]

I don't even have a phone that connects to the internet.

 

[thebigt42]

What about network latency???!!!! Download speed does not mean crap. I would rather have 877 kbps with low latency over 1410 kbps with high latency

 

[sliem]

Probably PCWorld gets $$ from AT&T.

 

[hakesterman]

Sorry, I don't buy it. ATT is the Worst ever and i will never deal with their Horrible Customer service ever again.

 

[mtyermom]

Oh, PCWorld... I do hope you're enjoying that fat AT&T check...

 

[ckthecerealkiller]

Well if PCWorld didn't screw up the tests and kept the same exact testing environment as they did during the last test, and that is a big IF. I say that this is a good thing. Competition helps and that is what Verizon likely did for AT&T, now it's Verizon's turn. CDMA needs to step up to 4G soon. It's getting to be very slow considering current bandwidth requirements.

 

[Clintonio]

[citation][nom]thebigt42[/nom]What about network latency???!!!! Download speed does not mean crap. I would rather have 877 kbps with low latency over 1410 kbps with high latency[/citation]
Ditto! Don't forget an available, uninterrupted, and faster than dial-up speed connection too.
Seriously, those are some warped results.

It's like giving me a map of the ground, telling me "this spot here would give you the best landline speeds in the country" and me going "but there is no house here..."

 

[Raishi]

I'd have to see where these tests were conducted before the data means anything. If it's the results of one test done in a city where AT&T has unusually good coverage, it's meaningless, when their performance elsewhere is far worse or non-existant.

 

[joebob2000]

How will I find out the capital of Peru without a 1.4 megabit connection on my cellphone? Never mind that I paid attention in my highschool-level world studies classes. HOW!!!!!111one

 

[Glorian]

I like how people are quick to talk crap about AT&T, if you don't have it why are you talking crap about, if you do have it and hate it drop it and move on, you can keep cellphone numbers between providers.

People were also quick to point out that these test can be misleading and indeed they can be, but the same can be said about Verizon, There is no regulation on speeds for 3g it simply the technology use to provide it.

BTW anything worth doing on the internet should be done on a real connection with a real computer/laptop. Why would I want to download anything on a 1.5mbit connection when I could download it on my home pc at 15mbit.

 

[tmantrex]

Ditto Glorian

Instead of making "ass umptions" go read the PCWorld article.

http/www.pcworld.com/article/189592/atandt_roars_back_in_pcworlds_second_3g_wireless_performance_test.html

I'm going to make an "assumption" that everyone can read.

 

[ssddx]

Glorian:

1. The reason people jump on AT&T is because of their history of bombarding us with misleading ads & having poor customer service.

2. Verizon may have a slower average connection speed, but at least I can access it at 95% of the places I frequent at greater than dialup speeds.

3. Do you expect me to whip out my landline and desktop when I'm in a store browsing for reviews on a product that I may buy? Or how about when using GPS for navigation? Or even... while browsing Youtube while waiting in the car for a pizza to get done? You have a point, but it does not always apply.

 

[redplanet_returns]

i'm too lazy to read the article...but given at&t's dirty track records this is hard to believe.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I'm located in sort of a dead spot. Service is spotty at best. Doesn't matter who the service provider is.

 

[zak_mckraken]

[citation][nom]particleman[/nom]Having the fastest network with the poorest coverage, is like having a car with its wheels missing..............utterly pointless and a waste of space.......[/citation]
It's more like having the fastest car that you can only drive on one road.