Looking for the Fastest Mobile Network? PC Mag Has Some Answers

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As more and more of us rely upon our mobile devices for all our online needs, having solid and fast mobile network is more important than ever. PC Mag hit the road to find out which networks perform fastest and where. The results aren’t as complete as we might like; still there is much to learn from them.Sending three cars out to thirty different cities, they tested eight networks, traveled 20,000 miles, and checked 90,000 data cycles.

Mobile Network

After the tests were performed, they set out to quantify the results and show which mobile network works best and where. They also ran various tests to see which phone models were able to perform fastest.

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The results in my area — New York –show the clear winner when using LTE ended up being … Verizon Wireless. They scored a 95 out of a hundred compared to AT&T’s 58. OUCH!

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The story was a bit different on 3G where T-Mobile earned 56 out of 100 points. AT%T came in a close second with a 50 out of 100, and Verizon registered a mere 34 out of 100.

In Austin, Judie fully expected to see AT&T be the clear LTE winner. But, no … they scored an 81 while T-Mobile scored a 97 out of 100; T-Mobile beat AT&T in 3G, too!

Looking for the Fastest Mobile Network? PC Mag Has Some Answers

Considering the fact that most new devices rely heavily on LTE, it seems to me that the LTE numbers are the more important ones. That, of course, explains why I have all my devices on… AT&T’s mobile network. Maybe it is time for a change.

The test results don’t include issues such as customer service, pricing and device options, but instead they focus specifically on speed. And if speed is your thing, then you’ll want to check the results in your area using their interactive map.

Click here to check out the mobile network results in your area.

 

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About the Author

Dan Cohen
Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. Dan is married to Raina Goldberg who is also an avid user of Apple products. They live in New Jersey with their golden doodle Nava.

1 Comment on "Looking for the Fastest Mobile Network? PC Mag Has Some Answers"

  1. Sadly when looking at the map you see what got tested … and the only ‘other’ places were the drives in between. And while 95 corridor might hit the majority of the population, it misses most of the area … and since all LTE is local, having data for NYC is every bit as relevant to my actual usage as the signal in North Dakota … oh wait, they ignored that whole section of the country! 🙂

    Though from what I’ve heard it doesn’t matter much – in non-‘major market’ locations, you seldom have choices. For example where I live – if you have Verizon you have 20+MB LTE, AT&T you find the ‘spots’ where you get signal, and everyone else you just hope for WiFi! 🙂

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