So you open up your browser and hop over to Google. You type in something like:
“Who has the fastest mobile broadband?”
3 sites that look very familiar pop up saying stuff like:
“BroadbandAccess Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO) network from Verizon Wireless has been enhanced with EV-DO Rev. A to deliver even faster data speeds and greater efficiencies. Fast downloads – typical speeds of 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps. Fast uploads – typical speeds of 500-800 Kbps.”
“With a Sprint Mobile Broadband Card, you get average download speeds of 600-1400 Kbps, peaking at 3.1 Mbps, and 350-500 Kbps average upload speeds, peaking at 1.8 Mbps. Similar to DSL, and about ten times faster than using a dial-up modem”
” AT&T offers the broadband speed and responsiveness of BroadbandConnect…the latest 3G devices provide typical download throughput of 700 kbps to 1.7 Mbps for downloads and 500 kbps to 1.2 Mbps for upload”
Ugh.
Just give it to me straight Doc. Speak English. How in the world is someone supposed to figure out who’s the fastest with this ‘can’t sue me’ lawyer-speak?
All the ranges seem to overlap. Even looking at the maximum speeds, Verizon and Sprint look identical…until, that is, you realize they are only theoretical. A best case scenario that’s not too optimistic.
It’s just like your speedometer’s range that goes from 0 mph to 120 mph. Just because 120 mph is on your dashboard doesn’t mean your rusty 16 year old Honda Civic Hatchback with the flashing engine check light is gonna make it.
The companies also know you can’t call them on it because ‘there are too many variables’. What were the road conditions like? How fast were you going? When last have you had a tune-up? What was the weather like? Do you know how many cell phone towers were in the area? How many satellites were positioned around you at the time? Or my personal favorite ‘You were most likely roaming and we have no control over other networks’.
It’s like trying to get fresh organic vegetables at McDonald’s. It’s just not gonna happen.
It just is what it is my friend.
The only way down to the nitty gritty and feast on the raw truth is to get out into the wild. Outside of my own testing, I draw on the experiences of others from ComputerWorld, Gizmodo and jkOnTheRun. I’ll give you a quick chronological recap of what happened with each:
ComputerWorld – Which 3G Network Is The Best? – 05/13/08
Location:
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut
Broadband Cards:
(AT&T) Sierra Wireless USBConnect 881, (Sprint) Novatel Wireless Ovation U727 and (Verizon) Sierra Wireless USB AirCard 595U
Result: AT&T had the highest maximum speed (1.6 Mbps), average download speed (755 Kbps) and upload speed (484 Kbps)
Gizmodo – The Definitive Coast-to-Coast 3G Data Test – 12/17/08
Location:
Austin, Boston, Chicago, New York City, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, San Francisco and the Bay Area
Broadband Cards:
AT&T’s Sierra USBConnect 881, Sprint’s Sierra Wireless Compass 597 and Verizon Wireless’s Novatel USB727
Results: Sprint had the highest national average download speed (1.4 Mbps) while AT&T (640 kbps) had the highest average upload speed
jkOnTheRun – 3G SpeedTest: EV-DO vs. HSDPA in Phoenix – 12/27/08
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Broadband Cards: Verizon Wireless USB727, AT&T USB Quicksilver
Results: Verizon had the highest download speed (2.1 Mbps) and upload speed (744 Kbps)
So here we’ve got 3 different tests all showing someone else as the winner. It’s hardly surprising. Mobile broadband speeds do vary from place to place. The only way to get a clear winner is to test in multiple locations, take a couple averages and then see who comes out on top.
Since Gizmodo’s test was the most comprehensive, it’s fair to say its also the most reliable. Sprint is kicking butt in the mobile broadband game. Even if you only compare the tests Gizmodo performed in New York City alongside the tests ComputerWorld ran in NYC, Sprint still beats AT&T in download and upload speed.
Sprint is clearly the winner overall and provides serious competition in every location. If put together the fact that they’re the fastest, largest mobile broadband network, you’ve got a double whammy.
It’s no wonder that Andy Abramson of Working Anywhere recommends Sprint. He spends about $900 per month testing mobile broadband and wireless internet related services. Seems like he might know a thing or two.
To beat a dead horse even further…
I’ve personally tested it over 1001 miles of highway at 70 miles per hour (New Orleans to Jacksonville and Tampa to Atlanta). I had my connection get dropped once…for 15 minutes total. That’s solid.
Now before we all start bowing down to the awesome network that is Sprint, ComputerWorld points out some things you should know:
“Using this technology can be a bit like being on a roller coaster. I found that I could be screaming along at 1.1Mbit/sec. only to have speeds slow to a crawl at 20Kbit/sec. a moment later. That’s because, as with all cellular service, speed and reliability depend on a variety of conditions, such as how far you are from a cell tower, how many other users are connected in your vicinity and how much data they’re moving”.
By: Marc Aarons
Archive for January, 2010
Who’s Got the Fastest Mobile Broadband? Sprint, Verizon and AT&T Speed Tests
January 30th, 2010Mobile Broadband Flourishing With the Advent of Netbooks
January 30th, 2010
Inventions today have made everything on earth possible. Communication sector has made big strides in uncovering various new phenomena, thereby taking us forward. One such futile technology is the mobile broadband. Previously the wires, hotspots and access points were essential to access internet and browse or mail to others to stay connected. It is now replaced by the advent of wireless broadband which uses the principle of transmission via the mobile phone towers. The broadband connectivity depends on your mobile phone signal in the location. This is easily facilitated by the provisions in the laptops namely the USB ports to access the internet from the service provider or dedicated transmission card.
While the broadband technology is proceeding in the right direction, it should be supplemented with the right development and progress in the mobile devices. That is what happens now. There are mobile phones that cater to some of the needs like checking mails and browsing web pages of minimal size. As the web pages increase in size the mobile phones become helpless in displaying them completely. The most indispensable aspect of mobile broadband is to access the internet on the go but if the device is not compatible, this invention goes futile.
In this perspective, mobile broadband is rightly backed up by the evolution of laptops and netbook. The laptops or netbook manufactured these days come with provisions for enabling mobile broadband. The laptops are becoming more and more sophisticated to make the mobile broadband feature accessible.
The netbook are miniatures of laptops, measuring about eight inches diagonally, but are not as powerful as laptops. These are delivered with inbuilt wireless receivers facilitating connection to wireless hotspots with less effort. The netbooks are compact and thereby can be carried anywhere inside your house or outside easily.
The laptops and netbook are now embedded with cellular modems. These are distinguished from the regular adapter modems that can be connected via a USB port or PC card slot by the feature that cannot be disconnected accidentally.
There are several benefits with the embedded modem to consumers and enterprises that an embedded modem cannot be chipped off when the person unknowingly wraps it into a case without removing the SIM card or when someone touches it lightly or forcibly in areas that are thronged by people. These facts are taken into consideration and the laptops or netbook are designed suitably to avoid such casualties.
There are various ideas put forth to bundle the mobile and internet services to reduce the cost borne by the customers. There are many offers from the laptop tailoring firms enabling dedicated mobile broadband. The 3G networks are widely used in such circumstances where people avoid using mobile phone functionalities like calling and sending text messages. Many mobile network vendors render mobile broadband feature now.
The netbooks and laptops manufactured now come with many appurtenances to support and provide mobile broadband tirelessly. An example of this is that the providers deploy tiny USB dongle that comprises an antenna and a place holder for the SIM card. Recently the laptop and netbook vendors deliver their devices with inbuilt HSDPA cards to reduce the provider’s implementation thus avoiding the use of USB ports. Now it is as simple as placing the SIM card in the holder and everything is done for accessing the internet.
There are chances for lot of savings by companies that provide their employees with an authentic and dependable cellular connection, enabling them to be away from WiFi hotspots. The transition from laptops to netbooks within built adapters will surely take some time but the impact it will have on wireless broadband will be in the positive direction.
By: Fredrick Joy
