As Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android smartphones become ubiquitous, it is important to know which major carriers’ 3G and 4G networks are the fastest. Unfortunately, much of the information comes from hyped advertising from the providers themselves, namely AT&T (NYSE:T) and Verizon (NYSE:VZ).
So the folks at PCWorld have taken on the herculean effort to rank the services across 130 locations in 13 major cities in the US.
Who is the winner when it comes to 4G? AT&T. That’s probably a surprise to many, considering lots of consumers delayed the purchase of an iPhone until it became available on the Verizon network, which was presumed to be better (at least according to its own marketing).
The dubious distinction of worst performer goes to Sprint (NYSE:S). Of course, the company has been struggling and does not have the resources to focus on infrastructure.
Here’s a quick look at who’s the fastest by city:
- Atlanta — 3G: T-Mobile; 4G: AT&T
- Boston — 3G: T-Mobile; 4G: AT&T
- Chicago — 3G: AT&T 4G: AT&T
- Dallas — 3G: AT&T 4G: AT&T
- Denver — 3G: T-Mobile; 4G: Verizon
- Los Angeles — 3G: T-Mobile; 4G: AT&T
- Las Vegas — 3G: T-Mobile; 4G: AT&T
- New Orleans — 3G: T-Mobile; 4G: Verizon
- New York — 3G: T-Mobile; 4G: AT&T
- San Jose — 3G: T-Mobile; 4G: Verizon
- San Francisco — 3G: T-Mobile; 4G: AT&T
- Seattle — 3G: T-Mobile; 4G: Verizon
- Washington DC — 3G: T-Mobile; 4G: AT&T
The complete PCWorld study can be viewed here.
— Tom Taulli, InvestorPlace
