My Verizon IPhone 5 VS. a friend's AT&T IPhone 5, guess who does no

[kevpan815]

In the Chicago Suburbs I have LTE almost all the time, does not matter where I go with my Verizon IPhone 5, but when I saw my friend's AT&T IPhone 5, at first I thought something was wrong with his IPhone 5 because it was alternating between saying 3G and 4G but no LTE indicator ever lit up, then today I looked at Verizon's IPhone 5 Owners Manual and Discovered that the 4G Indicator means that he is connected to UMTS and NOT LTE! It appears that AT&T still does NOT have LTE in some parts of the Chicago Area!

[SMELTN]

Yeah the AT&T iPhone 5 does both 3g, 4g ( 3.5g) and LTE, but AT&T LTE is only available in about 20 cities or so right now. A ton more coming by the end of the year though. We can't get it here either, so I have a iPhone5 for the bigger screen and thats about it :)

AT&T should have almost as much coverage as Verizon has on LTE by 2015 though, if not more, now that Washington allowed them to use the unused spectrum. That's why their LTE coverage has been so poor, they have been waiting on the approval of that

http://gigaom.com/mobile/att-shoots-for-2015-launch-of-new-lte-network/

[neufuse Veteran]

Yeah the AT&T iPhone 5 does both 3g, 4g ( 3.5g) and LTE, but AT&T LTE is only available in about 20 cities or so right now. A ton more coming by the end of the year though. We can't get it here either, so I have a iPhone5 for the bigger screen and thats about it :)

AT&T should have almost as much coverage as Verizon has on LTE by 2015 though, if not more, now that Washington allowed them to use the unused spectrum. That's why their LTE coverage has been so poor, they have been waiting on the approval of that

http://gigaom.com/mo...ew-lte-network/

by the time AT&T catches up to where Verizon is now, Verizon will probably have all their footprint as LTE :laugh:

little comparision map here http://network4g.verizonwireless.com/#/coverage

[Brandon H Supervisor]

by the time AT&T catches up to where Verizon is now, Verizon will probably have all their footprint as LTE :laugh:

little comparision map here http://network4g.ver....com/#/coverage

that or they'll have started rolling out something even better :laugh:

[Astra.Xtreme]

This is good to know. I'm going to switch from Sprint in June, and it's between Verizon and AT&T.

Looks to be that Verizon is still the best bet.

[Ambroos]

It's ridiculous how AT&T brands HSPA(+) as 4G while it still is 3G, or 3.5G if you really want to go as high as possible. In fact not even LTE is 4G as it is actually 3.9G. The first 4G standard is LTE Advanced, something that isn't rolled out anywhere.

[CentralDogma]

Yeah, Verizon has by far the largest LTE network in the US. But their rates are going to be higher because of it.

AT&T is in a distant second and then Sprint has a very small LTE network.

Also, like you mentioned, ignore "4G", it's a marketing term.

[kevpan815]

Yeah I just looked at both AT&T's Coverage Map and also Sprint's Coverage Map, AT&T only has HSPA+ in this area, (Algonquin, IL, U.S.A., which is about 50 Miles North West of Chicago O'Hare International Airport, still some what of a Rural Area) and Sprint still only has WI-MAX in this Area. Only reason that I am receiveing LTE this far away from Chicago is the fact that I am with Verizon Wireless, and not AT&T or Sprint.

[moloko]

Im sticking with Verizon so i can have an unlocked phone.

[SMELTN]

Im sticking with Verizon so i can have an unlocked phone.

unlocked iPhone 5 maybe.. but that was just luck that Apple didn't want to put other chips in. As far as Android devices, they are getting locked down even more with all carriers now. I really was hoping Verizon would be the ones to allow Android devices to be rooted, but alas.. they are getting manufacturers to lock down their phones as well.

[kevpan815]

Not to mention the fact that Verizon uses CDMA which the IPhone 5 still only lets you place Place CDMA Phone Calls Over the Air (unless you go Over Seas) as LTE is Limited to Data Only and does NOT apply to Phone Calls (Unless you go Overseas). I do have to say however that on my Vacation Trip to Florida (Earlier this Spring with the IPhone 4S that I traded in for A Verizon Wileless Gift Card after getting my IPhone 5) I was very impressed about how I still had a very good 3G Signal even out in the middle of no where with Verizon's National Voice and Text Unlimited Plan. Even my Mom had a good signal with her IPhone 4 (she decided to skip the 4S right after it came out due to the Reports of a massive Battery Drain Problem and get an IPhone 4, she has Verizon as well by the way).

[moloko]

unlocked iPhone 5 maybe.. but that was just luck that Apple didn't want to put other chips in. As far as Android devices, they are getting locked down even more with all carriers now. I really was hoping Verizon would be the ones to allow Android devices to be rooted, but alas.. they are getting manufacturers to lock down their phones as well.

I did not know that. I thought android phones were open. that sucks.

[Shadrack]

I don't use either but if I had to choose a company to go with I'd go with AT&T. When I had Verizon they were just pulling way too many shenanigans when it came to locking down the phones. Also when I called to cancel my service with them they bitched and moaned about it and told me that AT&T's coverage was crap and I was going to hate it.

AT&T's coverage was actually a LOT better in my area. The 3G was substantially faster than Verizon's at the time as well (I'm talking 3mbps compared to a measly 700kbps down). Then when my contract was up with AT&T, they unlocked my iPhone for me and when I said I was switching to a pay-as-you-go network (StraightTalk) they didn't give me any grief or try to win me over by lying about the competition. By that reason alone I'm far more likely to go with AT&T than Verizon. Also Verizon are the hidden fee masters.