At&t vs Verizon

[CDouthitt]

It's been a while since I've posted (due to not having a 2 wheeled ride anymore), however I know that ya'll are up to date on all the latest cell phone technologies out there...

We're looking for our office, roughly 12 new 4s iPhones...but which service?
We're used to ATT but have heard good things about verizon.

Discuss.

[Uesque]

I personally have had better customer service from AT&T and the reception is better in my area.

[Sleeveless]

I think it depends on where you live. We changed from AT & T to Verizon a couple years ago because we get better service at home with verizon.

[CDouthitt]

Originally Posted by Sleeveless

I think it depends on where you live. We changed from AT & T to Verizon a couple years ago because we get better service at home with verizon.

We travel all over the US, but primarily in California, Illinois (central and northern), Indiana, North Carolina, New York, Virginia, DC and the surrounding area.

[J.A.F.O.]

I switched from Sprint to Verizon because their service is very good around here. My wife has Att&t and they are fine also.
I'm in the NY tri-state area, just north of the city.

[Scabbydoo]

I have AT&T and they are pretty strong in the mid-Atlantic region. I've used them for quite a few years, primarily due to my travel for business. While I occasionally have had difficulty with data access in a remote area, voice has almost always been available. At one time I traveled most of the U.S. and only twice did I not have a signal.

[jasilva]

Verizon is far better in CA.

[Redleg]

Talk to Billy. Support Doof businesses. Just sayin...

[BillyB]

The coverage is pretty much the same across the US for voice, each carrier has some local areas that are stronger than the other and vice versa. Since you are talking about the iPhone 4S, the key difference is going to be data speed. The Verizon version of the phone is on their EVDO network (3G) and downloads at roughly half the speed of the AT&T version that supports HSPA+ (4G).

[MrSurly]

I travel quite a bit (HI just now) and I have had AT&T phones with data for a while.
Currently using iPhone 4S (which is 3G) and I also have a Verizon MiFi 4500 which is not a phone but a wifi hub that uses the cell data system. The mifi is capable of 4G but there aren't many markets with it yet. It does 3G everywhere else.
Why do I have both AT&T and Verizon?
There are places with dicey 3G service (Maggie Valley, anyone?) where my iphone will not get online using its 3G but I can turn on the mifi; it hits the Verizon tower (3G) and my iphone will connect to it (wifi) and I'm connected, using verizon's 3G. The connection won't get my phone calls to work directly, but I can text/email/surf,etc.
There are actually apps to use such a connection to connect calls as well over the wifi (voip)
My primary use of the mifi is to provide internet for my laptop virtually anywhere.
The fact that I have the AT&T iPhone gives me lots of opportunities to compare the 3G services as I travel.
Virtually everywhere that I have checked it when in an area serviced by both system's 3G towers, my iPhones do data faster using Verizon's system.
My apologies to my AT&T friends...the company is great in so many ways. I just don't think they are on top in data just now. No doubt, they'll come back, though.

BTW: when I've been in 4G areas....4G kix major data butt!

[Infidel!]

All I can say is Verizon has the largest and most reliable network.

Disclaimer: I work for Verizon.

But seriously, Verizon has 4G LTE in 194 cities across the country, way ahead of AT&T. If you're looking for faster data, look at the 4G phones available. The 4G iPhone comes out next year (maybe), so if you're negotiating a contract for your company, you ight get them to throw in free upgrades.

I got the HTC Rezound a few months back, and even though it's supposed to be a media phone, I love it for everything.

[Uesque]

AT&T does not work well in a motorhome in Chip's driveway, you have to have Russ ride you up to the top of the hill on Chip's quad to get any sort of signal.

[CDouthitt]

Thanks all...you guys and gals are the best!

[BillyB]

Originally Posted by MrSurly

Virtually everywhere that I have checked it when in an area serviced by both system's 3G towers, my iPhones do data faster using Verizon's system.
My apologies to my AT&T friends...the company is great in so many ways. I just don't think they are on top in data just now. No doubt, they'll come back, though.

BTW: when I've been in 4G areas....4G kix major data butt!

Not disputing your findings Ricky as these things can vary widely but AT&T's dominance in the speed category in the 3G realm was part of why Verizon pushed out LTE before it was ready for prime time. Here's the last nationwide 3G network comparison that was done before 4G started going out the door.



AT&T is also faster on LTE according to this article.



Here's my test results from San Antonio on the LTE network-



Here's the rolling nationwide average of iPhone speedtest results from Gizmodo. Since the 4S for AT&T supports HSPA+, it is significantly faster than all of the other carriers.



The consensus from most industry media types is that AT&T dominates on speed but that Verizon was more reliable. At least that was the case before the multiple nationwide outages that big red suffered in the latter part of last year

Of course, I work for AT&T so I might be a little biased....

[Bone Stockman]

I like waffles.