3G Network Speed Is Not the Issue

Good point by Pete Mortensen regarding Randall Stross’s AT&T puff piece in the NYT:

What’s most remarkable to me about all of this is how obviously manipulated the statistics are to make AT&T look better than Verizon. In one instance, Paul Carter of Global Wireless Solutions (which works for AT&T) notes that AT&T’s network throughput is “40 to 50 percent higher than the competition, including Verizon.” Sure, but no one denies that the maximum speed of AT&T 3G isn’t faster than CDMA. They complain that AT&T often lacks coverage of any kind, drops calls, and slips into EDGE for no apparent reason.

I missed this, but Mortensen’s exactly right. AT&T 3G is without question faster than Verizon’s — when you get a 3G connection. The problem is that you often don’t get a connection, or you do and then it drops. It’s like bragging about how fast your car is even though it’s often in the repair shop.

★ Monday, 14 December 2009