Verizon Wireless has two very different networks: a slow, but reliable nationwide 3G network and a blazingly fast 4G LTE network with limited coverage. The combination seems to be working out, as Verizon's 4G system swept our Fastest Mobile Networks awards while its 3G voice network got top marks in our Readers' Choice awards for its terrific coverage and call quality.
T-Mobile was the second-fastest network nationwide, and it's continuing to upgrade its speeds all the time. The carrier's existing HSPA+ 21 network is being replaced by HSPA+ 42, which could provide LTE-like speeds. . Of course, all of this could come to an end if AT&T buys T-Mobile, as the larger company has pledged to shut down T-Mobile's network to use the airwaves for LTE.
Sprint is in the toughest position in our tests. The carrier is struggling with speed and consistency, and the partner it relies on for its WiMAX network, Clearwire, has perpetual financial problems. But Sprint has one huge advantage: the nation's only truly unlimited 4G plan, making it the only network that you can use to replace a home Internet connection.
Sprint's 4G network has upload speeds that are artificially capped to 1Mbps, as our testing showed. In June, Sprint announced that it would be raising the cap at some undefined point in the future to 1.5Mbps. That isn't reflected in our results, which were tested in May.
We recalculated our numbers to check Sprint's scores to see if its upload speeds were increased by 50 percent in every city. That wouldn't necessarily happen, of course, but it was worth checking out. Faster uploads would definitely solve some of Sprint's problems. A 50-percent boost to upload speeds would have made Sprint 4G the winner in Kansas City, put it in second place to Verizon 4G in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville, and made it tie for second with T-Mobile in Atlanta and Las Vegas.
Cricket is a low-cost carrier available in 12 of our 21 cities. While its 3G network is comparatively slow, it currently charges $55 per month for unlimited smartphone usage, which is considerably less than the major players. It also covers many smaller cities. Cricket will be introducing an LTE network next year.
MetroPCS, like Verizon Wireless, offers LTE. But the small carrier, available in 11 of our 21 cities, is doing something very different with its 4G; rather than offering spectacular speeds, it's going for merely decent speeds at very low rates. The carrier's average speed is like a very good 3G network, but unlimited talk, text and Internet access costs just $60 a month—or about half of what Verizon charges.
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