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DECIDING ON 4G SERVICES.... Suggestions? (NYC area)

Turnpike

Turnpike

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 2, 2011
594
329
New York City!
I'm going to upgrade to an iPad 3, with 4G, and will be using it to browse Ebay, emails, and webpages (mostly research) and NOT for watching Netflix or Youtube....

What is the best carrier and plan, for those of you who are using one, and if you're in the NYC area even better.

I assume being 30 minutes outside the city and taking the train into the city every day I should be able to get a signal with both carriers, right...? Given my useage (4-9 hours per day, but just browsing web pages, not downloading things) is there any strong recommendations as to what plan I should get?

Thanks in advance!
 
I went with the Verizon iPad primarily since I have AT&T on my iPhone 4S and have experienced congestion issues on AT&T's HSPA+ network. I don't know how their LTE network is New York since I don't have an AT&T LTE device.

That said, while Verizon LTE certainly does have some congestion issues in Manhattan (I was getting speeds about 40% in Midtown during the week vs. what I get at home on the weekend), it so far seems to be functional, which I can't always say about AT&T's HSPA+ network.
 
Turnpike said:
I assume being 30 minutes outside the city and taking the train into the city every day I should be able to get a signal with both carriers, right...?
Click to expand...

Are you asking whether you'll be getting an LTE signal during your entire commute? Because if that's what you want, Verizon may be your only option. You didn't say where you're coming from but at this point, AT&T NYC LTE is basically the New York City boroughs (and not all of them, no LTE in Staten Island although AT&T did announce it will be coming there soon). Outside of the boroughs, the LTE network covers a little bit of Jersey City and Newark but that's pretty much it.

You can check out AT&T's LTE coverage in the NYC area by going here:

http://www.att.com/network/

Click on the "Network" tab and then click on New York City on the map that pops up. It'll show you the LTE coverage.
 
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ddarko said:
Are you asking whether you'll be getting an LTE signal during your entire commute? Because if that's what you want, Verizon may be your only option. You didn't say where you're coming from but at this point, AT&T NYC LTE is basically the New York City boroughs (and not all of them, no LTE in Staten Island although AT&T did announce it will be coming there soon). Outside of the boroughs, the LTE network covers a little bit of Jersey City and Newark but that's pretty much it.

You can check out AT&T's LTE coverage in the NYC area by going here:

http://www.att.com/network/

Click on the "Network" tab and then click on New York City on the map that pops up. It'll show you the LTE coverage.
Click to expand...



I would be coming from Westchester NY, about a 35 minute ride. But my question was more about a good package to have the web-browsing access for the cheapest plan- I wont be downloading pictures or video. I'm not worried about speed and connectivity, I assume both plans have good coverage in Manhattan, and I think most of my work will be done while I'm in the city (Manhattan area).

I'm more interested in which carrier/plan has the best web-browsing-only type plan for the least per month. Thanks!

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It seems in general that people think Verizon is the carrier to go with, if I'll be using it in the Manhattan area, for the best speed/coverage/etc..... does that sound right?
 
Buddies back home in NYC tell me Verizon sucks, but they are kinda stuck with it, I still can't understand this " you choose a provider when you buy" approach back in the States.

The good thing here is that if I get hacked off with my provider, and I own my devices ( which I do) I can vote with my feet.

O2 provide a good service at the right price, so I stick...they get it wrong and I walk.

Having to lock yourself in at time of purchase really sucks.
 
Turnpike said:
I would be coming from Westchester NY, about a 35 minute ride. But my question was more about a good package to have the web-browsing access for the cheapest plan- I wont be downloading pictures or video. I'm not worried about speed and connectivity, I assume both plans have good coverage in Manhattan, and I think most of my work will be done while I'm in the city (Manhattan area).

I'm more interested in which carrier/plan has the best web-browsing-only type plan for the least per month. Thanks!

----------

It seems in general that people think Verizon is the carrier to go with, if I'll be using it in the Manhattan area, for the best speed/coverage/etc..... does that sound right?
Click to expand...

I bought the iPad with Verizon LTE in Manhattan but I think AT&T's LTE in Manhattan would be fine too. All anecdotal reports are that both LTE service are good in Manhattan. There's some debate which network is faster but since speed is not a concern for you and coverage is a wash since both have good Manhattan LTE coverage, it seems like price should be the deciding factor for you. AT&T offers the cheapest plan but with the smallest data allotment - $15 for 250MB per month. Verizon's cheapest plan is $20 for 1GB per month, 4x the data allowance of AT&T's cheapest plan. You're planning to do mostly email and browsing which aren't very data intensive so it's possible the 250MB plan from AT&T would work for you but that's something you're going to have to figure out for yourself.

One more thing, the Verizon $20/1GB plan is a pre-paid option - you'll get charged at the beginning of each billing month rather than pay later after the month ends. You can sign up (and cancel) this service easily on your iPad through the carrier settings options. If you go with Verizon, don't let Verizon or any store you may buy your iPad from try to tell you this option isn't available and you have to sign up for a higher priced tier. I don't think it's deliberately lying and I'll give them the benefit of the doubt but I encountered a lot of confusion among a lot of salespeople about prices and data tiers.
 
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ddarko said:
I bought the iPad with Verizon LTE in Manhattan but I think AT&T's LTE in Manhattan would be fine too. All anecdotal reports are that both LTE service are good in Manhattan. There's some debate which network is faster but since speed is not a concern for you and coverage is a wash since both have good Manhattan LTE coverage, it seems like price should be the deciding factor for you. AT&T offers the cheapest plan but with the smallest data allotment - $15 for 250MB per month. Verizon's cheapest plan is $20 for 1GB per month, 4x the data allowance of AT&T's cheapest plan. You're planning to do mostly email and browsing which aren't very data intensive so it's possible the 250MB plan from AT&T would work for you but that's something you're going to have to figure out for yourself.

One more thing, the Verizon $20/1GB plan is a pre-paid option - you'll get charged at the beginning of each billing month rather than pay later after the month ends. You can sign up (and cancel) this service easily on your iPad through the carrier settings options. If you go with Verizon, don't let Verizon or any store you may buy your iPad from try to tell you this option isn't available and you have to sign up for a higher priced tier. I don't think it's deliberately lying and I'll give them the benefit of the doubt but I encountered a lot of confusion among a lot of salespeople about prices and data tiers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this! EXACTLY what I was looking for, I really appreate it. You always get more of a straight answer from someone who's not simply selling it. I do only check a few emails now and then and some browsing, so the Verizon service sounds like it might work for me.

Thanks again ddarko!
 
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