AT&T LTE is blazing fast in general, especially in Los Angeles. The people who are complaining are just a bunch of trolls. I've used the service for years, and I have watched carefully as AT&T has aggressively expanded its coverage, and enhanced existing coverage.
Ha. Ha. Haaaaa. Ha!
Let's talk about some facts, and some real-world comparative tests. At least from where I'm sitting.
When the "new iPad (3)" came out, I actually bought both models, one on AT&T and one on Verizon. And for two weeks, I brought both around with me as I drove, and worked, around the city. I ran a battery of SpeedTests in all locations... Burbank, downtown L.A., Santa Monica and Venice, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, West L.A. and Hollywood, Glendale... all over my town.
The results of these tests were definitive. In every. single. instance. Verizon was faster than AT&T's. Often DOUBLE the speed! (Two times, Verizon's speed -- both down and up -- was TRIPLE that of AT&T's.) Not just on SpeedTest either, in real-world usability as I browsed the web, streamed multimedia, and received emails with large attachments.
And there were a few instances where AT&T just had no signal at all.
It was no contest, really. Verizon consistently and completely beat AT&T in terms of coverage and overall speed. AT&T's got quite a bit of improvement ahead of it if it hopes to offer better service than Verizon in L.A. I actually felt pity for AT&T and its customers.
Now, I've had AT&T, on my iPhone 4, 3GS and 3 before that, for over four years now. I'm a heavy phone user, I make and receive calls for hours per weekday, clocking in over 1,500 minutes per month. With AT&T I'd say coverage is sub-par, at least in the areas I travel most. Poor signal strength, inability to make calls, when folks around me (on Sprint or Verizon) are making calls just fine. And when I go to the beach, or hike Runyon Canyon, or travel to San Fran, or try to use my phone at Dodger Stadium, or Coachella, and it flat out doesn't work (even though my device reports a bar or two) I look around and see who *is* using their phone, and I go over and ask, "which carrier are you with?" and they invariably answer with a smile, "Verizon."
With AT&T I'm constantly dropping calls as I drive (it's gotten to the point where I know exactly what streets and intersections my call will be disconnected.) Calls very often go straight to voicemail, even when the device is just sitting there, doing nothing, sitting on the table with "all 5 bars." And call quality often sucks; I'm told that I sound like I'm underwater.
So yes, my experience matches this video review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO1E8_OuGYo
Last week I switched over to Verizon with the iPhone 5, and I've used it heavily so far. I haven't had a SINGLE dropped call. Call quality sounds SOOO much better. Coverage (even in those problem areas) is better. It's a better phone network in this area, period. I'm very happy with the switch. And yes, even though that means giving up my grandfathered "unlimited-yet-throttled-and-still-can't-use-FaceTime-over-cellular" AT&T plan. Good riddance. I need a phone that works as reliably as possible AS A PHONE.
I've also learned that in the end, "signal strength bars" mean absolutely nothing (so long as you have more than zero, of course.) What matters is, can you make/receive calls reliably, and not drop them? In a crowded event (like a concert) can you send a text that gets delivered promptly? Can you do FaceTime over cellular? I'm talking real-world usability things here... and I can say with certainty, with the available iDevices out today, and the carrier coverage available in L.A. in 2012 both these two carriers, Verizon is trouncing AT&T.
If I have 4 bars on AT&T and can't make/maintain a call, yet have 2 bars on Verizon, and
can... what does that tell you?
I get the best of both worlds, iPhone on Verizon and iPad on AT&T or vice versa just to have the diversity incase network goes down.
I considered that too, but given my direct experience (and focused experimentation) I realized AT&T's coverage here is just so poor that I'd be shooting myself in the foot (and losing out on more cost-effective data sharing plans) by straddling the fence with both carriers like that for some kind of perceived "insurance." Literally, not ONCE was there a time where Verizon didn't have a signal and AT&T did. And every time AT&T didn't have a signal, Verizon certainly did!
My iPad 3 and iPhone 5 are now both on Verizon, and finally feel like the mobile devices I use on a daily basis are living up to their potential.