Verizon's LTE Network to Reach Two-Thirds of U.S. Population This Week

[Codyak]

Originally Posted by johncrab

With my iPad3 and AT&T LTE service, I am getting a consistent 25-27Mbps in various markets where I travel. It's upper-mid-tier cable speed. It just screams. If a top speed of 12 is all Verizon is offering, I made the right choice.

I usually get 20-30 right outside of DC on Verizon.

[guzhogi]

Originally Posted by edenwaith

Once they reach 99% and have proper coverage in the moral rural states, then I'll be impressed.

I agree. I don't want to hear how doing that is expensive. Maybe the state & federal governments can do a private/public fund thing to do it. With more and more stuff done on the internet, the more a good internet connection is necessary.

[ks-man]

Originally Posted by edenwaith

Once they reach 99% and have proper coverage in the moral rural states, then I'll be impressed.

These business are out to make a profit. If you were running the company in the interest of the shareholders (their mandate) which would you choose?

A) $5 billion to cover 85% of the country with LTE leading to $15b in revenues
B) $10b to cover 98% of the country with LTE leading to $17b in revenues

For better or for worse it will always come down to numbers and there just isn't a rational business reason to cover the entire country with cutting edge technology that will significantly increase costs without adding to revenues. People in rural areas would have to pay 10x the cost to cover such an expansion and how would those people react to a $1000/month bill compared to their urban counterparts $100/month bill?

Note: All numbers were made up to illustrate a point

[Dionte]

At first I was gonna use Verizon Lte on my iPad, the speed is amazing. But the data cap is way too low, so I am back to tethering my iPhone to ipad, luckily At&t 3g speeds are consistently 3.5 down 1.5 up so it's not bad. Now i get to use 4.5 gbytes for the prices I would have been paying for 1 gbyte of verizion lte.

[dagamer34]

Originally Posted by Fuchal

5-12Mbps download? I've regularly been seeing 40-54mbps on Verizon.

That's only the speed Verizon promises you and right know only 5% of their customers are in their 4G network. When that number hits 100% eventually, I wouldn't expect 40-50Mbps without significantly more investments in spectrum allocations.

[charlituna]

Originally Posted by Leonard1818

glad I'm locked into unlimited data.... next iPhone, here I come!

IF they let you keep said plan all it just means that you'll hit their speed caps even faster because that awesome faster service and 'unlimited' status will encourage you to use cell data. Cause if you look at the fine print the only 'unlimited' you really get is the amount of data not the speed you get it.

----------

Originally Posted by gadgetfreak98

One correction as pertains to the AT&T iPad with LTE. If you had maintained your grandfathered unlimited plan from the iPad 1, it converts over to unlimited LTE.

That's a nifty trick since ATT doesn't have LTE. Some folks would say they don't have 4g either since it isn't LTE and they should be calling it 3g+

[swordfish5736]

Originally Posted by Codyak

I usually get 20-30 right outside of DC on Verizon.

I'm getting anywhere from 20-50 on AT&T right outside of DC

[supremedesigner]

That's great that they're doing that but don't get me wrong ... their datacap really blows. 250mb per month? That doesn't even cover for like 10 minutes of use.

I am waiting for Sprint since it'll be the only carrier that offer unlimited datacap for LTE. No matter if it's slow but hey, it's better than nothing.

I'd rather Apple to be the next carrier. See my post: http://9to5forums.com/discussion/786

[swordfish5736]

Originally Posted by charlituna

That's a nifty trick since ATT doesn't have LTE. Some folks would say they don't have 4g either since it isn't LTE and they should be calling it 3g+

Last I checked AT&T has LTE which they call LTE and they call there HSPA+ network "4G"

[Exegesis48]

Originally Posted by rmatthewware

Do you mean 3 gb per month before being shifted to the EDGE network?

That's why I switched to the 5gb tethering plan with AT&T. I had unlimited, but knew I would regularly come up against the 3gb ceiling, so opted to bit the bullet and go with the tiered plan.

One thing that helped was the fact that AT&T only applies corporate discounts on service options that are $50+. Since the tethering plan qualifies for the discount and the $30 plan didn't, I'm really only paying $12.50 a month more for 2gb extra data AND tethering, which I use all the time on my iPad.

[fly75]

Originally Posted by ks-man

These business are out to make a profit. If you were running the company in the interest of the shareholders (their mandate) which would you choose?

These corporations are already in a regulated industry where the 'public good' is a business consideration. The issues are no different than providing landlines (or electricity) to rural areas.

[edenwaith]

Originally Posted by ks-man

These business are out to make a profit. If you were running the company in the interest of the shareholders (their mandate) which would you choose?

A) $5 billion to cover 85% of the country with LTE leading to $15b in revenues
B) $10b to cover 98% of the country with LTE leading to $17b in revenues

For better or for worse it will always come down to numbers and there just isn't a rational business reason to cover the entire country with cutting edge technology that will significantly increase costs without adding to revenues. People in rural areas would have to pay 10x the cost to cover such an expansion and how would those people react to a $1000/month bill compared to their urban counterparts $100/month bill?

Note: All numbers were made up to illustrate a point

Unfortunately, this is the sad truth of things. That's why I'm not holding my breath to expect any form of "4G" (or even AT&T 3G) to reach the larger, but sparsely populated states any time soon.

[gdjsnyder]

I don't have time to search for the appropriate source right now, but I believe it was stated after Verizon transitioned to limited plans by the CFO or COO or someone, that the unlimited data would be grandfathered for at least one upgrade cycle for current users. That means if you purchased the iPhone 4 on Verizon, you don't have an upgrade until earliest 10/2012, so you will retain unlimited data for at least that upgrade, whether it's a 3G phone, or 4G.

[Codyak]

Originally Posted by CRIIM44

I'm getting anywhere from 20-50 on AT&T right outside of DC

Not really trying to say one is faster than the other or anything, but seeing how many more devices run Verizon's LTE and how much longer Verizon has had their LTE network up, it would actually be quite sad if AT&T wasn't faster.

Also do you have unlimited LTE with AT&T? I've used 9 Gigs so far this month and still zero slow downs.

[-jeffB]

In other news, Verizon continues to blow off the entire state of North Carolina (including major metropolitan areas like Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham) for FIOS deployment. I guess I can see their reasoning, though -- why provide relatively cheap wired service plans with unlimited data, when they can instead soak us for $10/GB on wireless plans?

[peteypab2133]

I work for verizon as a sales rep, and I can honestly say the LTE they offer is far superior than any other carrier. I also hear by mid summer they may "not allow" any new 3G phones to be sold on verizon. Meaning the droid x and incredible 2 and iphone etc etc would be okay. But a new 3G iphone might NOT be ok... We will see. This as well as family shared data for numerous phones. Will help me sell more phones!!! lol

[Boisv]

Verizon can expand their LTE coverage all they want. As long as their network won't support voice and data at the same time, I'm not impressed. I'll stick with AT&T.

[dfnj123]

Originally Posted by peteypab2133

I work for verizon as a sales rep, and I can honestly say the LTE they offer is far superior than any other carrier. I also hear by mid summer they may "not allow" any new 3G phones to be sold on verizon. Meaning the droid x and incredible 2 and iphone etc etc would be okay. But a new 3G iphone might NOT be ok... We will see. This as well as family shared data for numerous phones. Will help me sell more phones!!! lol

Yeah, I'm sure your opinion is not bias as all

[JHankwitz]

Originally Posted by budafied

Next iPhone better have LTE!

What could make anyone possibly think it will not have it?

[DakotaGuy]

Originally Posted by Mike Valmike

Yeah turns out you have unlimited 3G data. As many VZ and ATT customers are discovering, transitioning to 4G LTE requires that you give up your lock-in and get on the price-per-byte treadmill.

What? I moved to a 4G LTE Droid RAZR MAXX and kept my unlimited data. Unless things change when or if the iPhone gets 4G LTE I think anyone who is grandfathered into unlimited is keeping it when they move to a 4G capable phone.

Originally Posted by Boisv

Verizon can expand their LTE coverage all they want. As long as their network won't support voice and data at the same time, I'm not impressed. I'll stick with AT&T.

Verizon 4G LTE supports voice and data at the same time. I can talk on my RAZR MAXX and use data at the same time without any issues on the 4G network. 3G CDMA will never support this, but they are moving away from that anyhow. The Verizon iPhone doesn't because it uses outdated network techology.

[Tinmania]

Originally Posted by ks-man

These business are out to make a profit. If you were running the company in the interest of the shareholders (their mandate) which would you choose?

A) $5 billion to cover 85% of the country with LTE leading to $15b in revenues
B) $10b to cover 98% of the country with LTE leading to $17b in revenues

For better or for worse it will always come down to numbers and there just isn't a rational business reason to cover the entire country with cutting edge technology that will significantly increase costs without adding to revenues. People in rural areas would have to pay 10x the cost to cover such an expansion and how would those people react to a $1000/month bill compared to their urban counterparts $100/month bill?

Note: All numbers were made up to illustrate a point

While this is generally true, it ignores the fact that people travel and yet still want or need to stay connected.

Two people go on a weekend excursion. One, on Carrier A, has full speed internet. The other, on Carrier B does not. The next trip might find them both using Carrier A.

So while it is of course better to go after the low-hanging fruit first, there are competitive benefits to wider coverage in more rural areas.



Michael

[dfnj123]

Originally Posted by Boisv

Verizon can expand their LTE coverage all they want. As long as their network won't support voice and data at the same time, I'm not impressed. I'll stick with AT&T.

This.

Plus AT&T's data speeds on both 3G and 4G seem to be constistantly faster than Verizon's.

I can afford to wait a year or two longer for AT&T's LTE coverage to match Verizon's as long as the data speeds are faster

[Boisv]

Originally Posted by budafied

Next iPhone better have LTE!

This seems like a pretty safe bet considering the new iPad.

[MacNewbie03]

Originally Posted by highlnd

Damn you AT&T, get off your A$$ and expand. I'm regretting my iPad LTE purchase now. I should probably have gone WiFi only.

No kidding. I have NO 3g on ATT in my area (rural area in NW Ohio). Verizon has great 3G coverage here. I am going Verizon this fall since its been 2 years and still no 3g. Hopefully by then the new iPhone will be out. I understand that it costs money to roll this stuff out but if Verizon can do it why can't ATT?

[Boisv]

Originally Posted by DakotaGuy

What? I moved to a 4G LTE Droid RAZR MAXX and kept my unlimited data. Unless things change when or if the iPhone gets 4G LTE I think anyone who is grandfathered into unlimited is keeping it when they move to a 4G capable phone.



Verizon 4G LTE supports voice and data at the same time. I can talk on my RAZR MAXX and use data at the same time without any issues on the 4G network. 3G CDMA will never support this, but they are moving away from that anyhow. The Verizon iPhone doesn't because it uses outdated network techology.

YAY! Now that's good news. Knowing this, the next time I upgrade I'll take a good look at the competition.