One question consumers will continue to ask: which carrier provides the best mobile broadband speeds. A few publications have attempted to answer this question. First it was Gizmodo, which pronounced Sprint the fastest. This came as a surprise to many, because AT&T and Verizon typically receive accolades for their speedy networks. A bit later, Gizmodo rival Engadget said wait, AT&T is the fastest. So which is correct? Possibly none. Yet another publication, Wired magazine, has run its own test in which Verizon has the fastest speeds. Geeze, talk about indeterminate results.
The difference in this test is that Wired used smartphones, while Engadget and Gizmodo used broadband modems hooked up to laptop computers. That might play a part in the differences.
Verizon came in first place with an average download speed of 1,940 Kbps, as reported by 856 participants. T-Mobile’s average rate was 1,793 Kbps with 1,189 reported T-Mobile users. Third was Sprint with 1,598 Kbps, based on data from 1,570 users. In dead last was AT&T with an average of 901 Kbps — but an overwhelmingly large user sample of 8,153 test takers.
Part of the problem, as the above paragraph notes, is sample size. Verizon was by far the fastest, but there might not have been enough participants to get an accurate reading. Also, again, these numbers are averages of coverage around the country. Each area is going to have different levels of coverage, so taking a national average is more of an entertainment endeavor than a suggestive one.
For what it’s worth PC World found Verizon to be the fastest as well.
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