AT&T LTE in Manhattan?

[ddarko]

I've looked at the lengthy Speedtest.net LTE thread but wanted to create a more targeted thread to solicit feedback on folks' experience with AT&T LTE service in Manhattan.

Some background - I got the Verizon LTE iPad, mainly because of the hotspot and also because my own sour opinion of AT&T since my iPhone 4 is unusable in midtown during business hours, even for checking email. Obviously, that's on AT&T 3G network and their 4G LTE is not crowded but I didn't feel like giving more money to AT&T. Well, when I got the Verizon LTE iPad, I was a little surprised that LTE service at my apt on the far midtown west of Manhattan was both slower and not as strong as I expected. Speeds were in the 8mbit range and connectivity would come and go when sitting on my couch. Speeds improved to the 12-15mbit range and locked on to the signal when I sat next to the window but obviously not ideal.

Of course when I'm home, I'd use my wi-fi network, not LTE, but I'm still a little disappointed the LTE signal isn't stronger and faster. I took the iPad outside and as you'd expect, speeds were much faster -15+ mbits - but I never saw the 25+ download speeds some people were posting in the speedtest.net thread. I'm curious if things are much speedier on AT&T LTE network in Manhattan. How is the coverage and the speeds you're seeing? If you don't mind sharing, details such as general area - UWS, Midtown, West Village - and time of day would be helpful.

 

[boltjames]

I've looked at the lengthy Speedtest.net LTE thread but wanted to create a more targeted thread to solicit feedback on folks' experience with AT&T LTE service in Manhattan.

Some background - I got the Verizon LTE iPad, mainly because of the hotspot and also because my own sour opinion of AT&T since my iPhone 4 is unusable in midtown during business hours, even for checking email. Obviously, that's on AT&T 3G network and their 4G LTE is not crowded but I didn't feel like giving more money to AT&T. Well, when I got the Verizon LTE iPad, I was a little surprised that LTE service at my apt on the far midtown west of Manhattan was both slower and not as strong as I expected. Speeds were in the 8mbit range and connectivity would come and go when sitting on my couch. Speeds improved to the 12-15mbit range and locked on to the signal when I sat next to the window but obviously not ideal.

Of course when I'm home, I'd use my wi-fi network, not LTE, but I'm still a little disappointed the LTE signal isn't stronger and faster. I took the iPad outside and as you'd expect, speeds were much faster -15+ mbits - but I never saw the 25+ download speeds some people were posting in the speedtest.net thread. I'm curious if things are much speedier on AT&T LTE network in Manhattan. How is the coverage and the speeds you're seeing? If you don't mind sharing, details such as general area - UWS, Midtown, West Village - and time of day would be helpful.

Chelsea, Monday, lunchtime, fabulous.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1344734/

BJ

 

[ddarko]

Thanks. I saw your thread but it got derailed pretty quickly so I thought better to let it stay dead than revive it.

It's interesting the AT&T non-LTE 4G/3G+ speeds you got are pretty much the same as what you'd get from Verizon's EVDO. Even though technically AT&T is hypothetically much faster than Verizon's EVDO, I never see it - 1.5mbits is pretty much what I see on my AT&T iPhone 4 outside of business hours. It would pretty much be a wash should the LTE iPad ever need to fall back to its 3G Verizon/AT&T network - if anything, Verizon may have the advantage because you can actually use its network during the day in midtown.

If only Verizon was a little less crowded! I guess it's only going to get worse, on both networks. I hate the thought of going with AT&T, especially with the absence of hotspot. It took AT&T a year to turn it on with the iPhone and even now, it's only available for people with the 5gb tier. Grrr...