AT&T Mobility may lag behind Verizon Wireless when it comes to pure LTE coverage, but the carrier can at least lay claim to faster network speeds, according to a new report from Root Metrics.
Root, which said it gathered more than 725,000 data points across the nation’s top 77 markets during the second half of 2012, said AT&T Mobility’s LTE network provided average download speeds of 18.6 megabits per second and average upload speeds of 9 Mbps. Highlighting the limited nature of AT&T Mobility’s network, Root did note that the carrier only offered LTE service in 47 of 77 markets tested. For markets where AT&T Mobility did not provide LTE services, Root found the carrier’s data network provided average download speeds of 4.3 Mbps and average upload speeds of 1.1 Mbps. AT&T Mobility markets all of its HSPA+ and LTE services under the “4G” banner, though it does include the “LTE” name when specifically offering LTE services.
Verizon Wireless’ LTE network, which was offered in all markets tested by Root, provided average download speeds of 14.3 Mbps and average upload speeds of 8.5 Mbps. When not on the carrier’s LTE network, Root found that Verizon Wireless’ CDMA-based 3G services provided average download speeds of 900 kilobits per second and average upload speeds of 700 Kbps.
Verizon Wireless tied AT&T Mobility in providing test speeds in excess of 10 Mbps for 56% of data points gathered by Root for LTE services. Verizon Wireless did outshine AT&T Mobility in Root testing by providing a more consistent LTE signal, with data points showing LTE signals from Verizon Wireless being accessible 93.2% of the time, while AT&T Mobility’s LTE network was only accessible within the carrier’s LTE markets 81.7% of the time.
One fact that could be impacting Verizon Wireless’ network speed somewhat could be the greater traffic flowing over its network. The carrier was the first to launch LTE services back in late 2010, and has said that half of its total data traffic was now flowing over its LTE network.
Having just launched LTE services last summer, Sprint Nextel still managed to post impressive network speeds, though with limited data points. The carrier posted average download speeds of 10.3 Mbps and average upload speeds of 4.4 Mbps, backing somewhat management claims that despite a limited spectrum support, customers would see compelling network speeds.
However, highlighting the infant nature of the carrier’s LTE network, Root found that Sprint Nextel’s LTE service was only available in five of 77 markets tested and just over half of all download tests in LTE markets were actually able to grab an LTE signal. For the carrier’s legacy CDMA-based 3G offering, Root found average download speeds of 1.6 Mbps and average upload speeds of 700 Mbps.
Somewhat outside the LTE realm, at least for now, T-Mobile USA’s HSPA+-based “4G” offering offered up average download speeds of 7.3 Mbps and average upload speeds of 1.5 Mbps. Strong for a 3G-based service, but those test definitely show the carrier is in desperate need of LTE to truly compete with its larger rivals.
“LTE is the big buzzword in carrier advertising these days,” Root noted. “What matters for consumers isn’t necessarily the name of the technology but what speeds are actually experienced. And while multiple carriers now have LTE, our results show that all LTE is not created equal, with significant differences in both LTE availability and speed among the carriers.”
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