AT&T versus Verizon 3G coverage
A lot of folks are anxiously awaiting the iPhone 3G and taking advantage of the AT&T 3G network but as Gear Diary points out unless you’re in a fairly top market area you might not get 3G coverage. The AT&T coverage map they produced got me to wondering how the AT&T coverage compares to that of Verizon’s BroadbandAccess (3G) network so off I went looking to find out. Here is a direct comparison of the national 3G coverage of the two major carriers:
Note that on the AT&T map above blue is 3G. Click on either map to enlarge a bit. Verizon has the 3G coverage award but AT&T is definitely catching up.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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I don’t think the AT&T map is accurate ( at&t’s fault). I have 3G in Colorado Springs and it isn’t blue on the map.
Actually if you find the map online and look closely it is. You should switch to Verizon so you can get it anywhere. Same price… why not. Almost NO dead zones.
I’m in a small town on the central Oregon coast and AT&T just bumped us up to 3G last weekend. Who would have thought?
“Verizon has the 3G coverage award but AT&T is definitely catching up.”
How can you state that AT&T is definitely catching up based on just this one point in time (the current maps)? Where’s your evidence?
You’re not using any type of statistical data analysis that I’ve every heard of.
For all I know from the evidence you’ve presented, Verizon could be pulling away.
earl, I have been using the Verizon network for several years and the AT&T network for a year. I have personally found the Verizon coverage to be better in the different places around the country I have tried both.
How about Sprint? They have a HUGE 3G EVD0/RevA coverage area. It’s the only thing they do well.
Yeah that AT&T map is terrible, according to it Tampa doesn’t have 3g, but I know for a fact that it has for some time.
Sprint’s EVDO network is impressive. I have yet to be somewhere without at least EVDOr0… most areas have RevA. They also do much better with having EVDO coverage in the middle of nowhere and not just metro areas.
However, HSDPA actually has international coverage, and you can buy HSDPA prepaid sims in some countries. Different folks, different requirements.
ya att sucks they rip you off they just want money. verixon 3g service is GREAT i just got the voyager and its so great and i get service everywhere with verizon
I’m holding out ’till Apple goes with Verizon. AT&T coverage simply sucks.
i love iphone nobody can beat them.
Check this out for a different view of coverage, which based on my own 3G experience (and I travel every week) is much more accurate.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/11/10/att_defends_its_data_network_from_verizon_ad_attacks.html
On the top chart, do you see those blue splotches? THAT is the 3G coverage. That is nothing. Its only in a few corners of the USA. Verizon Covers almost ALL of the USA. You see, the choice is obvious. GO WITH VERIZON. The iPhone isn’t that great if the features can’t be used in most of the USA. Smart phones from Verizon are better anyway with just about all the same features of the Iphone except you can actually USE all of them. To see a true comparison of 3G coverage go to
http://www.icellphonedeals.com/images/verizon_3g_coverage_map.jpg
Dont you guys get it? They are ALL lying and misleading – and now with the “theres no such thing as bad press” they are reaping double benefits from their lies-hence neither wants to press the issue in court.
And not one of us lowly cattle has the gumption or the funds to stad up to them in a legal batte to call their sorry you know whats on the carpet….
> Verizon has the 3G coverage award but AT&T is definitely
> catching up.
Catching up?
Even with AT&T trying to “catch up”… as of today… Verizon still has 5 *TIMES* more 3G coverage than AT&T.
That’s your idea of “catching up”????
If coverage is so critical, you’d better check the actual areas where you seek 3G coverage. In Spring 2009 I had to choose between ATT and Verizon. While Verizon could make a broad-brush stroke assessment that its national coverage was broader, when I pushed the resolution to a fine level, it was clear that ATT provided much better coverage in the specific areas where I operated. In many critical areas, ATT provided 3G where Verizon provided no coverage whatsoever. No doubt other users may find Verizon better in their specific areas. In the fourteen months since choosing ATT, the coverage has expanded.