NYC coverage with VZW, ATT, and Tmobile? & Is talking & surfing a big deal for you?

[osofast240sx]

Huhuhuhuhhhh.. Hey Beavis... he said....

*snirks*

Only slightly better than 3G on the current iPhones. The AWS band is 1700MHz, PCS is 1900MHz. Not much of a difference.

It's the 850MHz CLR band that has excellent penetration, and T-Mobile doesn't have this band. AT&T does, but not in all areas. I've found NYC coverage to be hit-or-miss. Lots of tall buildings + high population density + horrible multipath due to reflections off said buildings == nightmares for RF engineers.

Edti: I should add that AT&T and Verizon have repeaters in many buildings. For example, when you walk into Penn Station with your AT&T iPhone 5, you'll notice that you go from having LTE to five perfect bars of "4G" UMTS coverage. The reason? AT&T repeaters throughout the station. This is universally case when you see full signal "4G" coverage deep in a building on AT&T. These repeaters don't support LTE but you should be thankful as they're the only reason you have coverage in there in the first place!

With the new AWS tmobile iPhone the building penetration is 10 times better. Tmobile has a 6 or 7 year roaming deal with AT&T on 850mhz. This was well worth the wait.

 

[0970373]

I'm asking NYC locals where are they and how is their coverage? I know a few might have taken an iphone to Tmobile already so if they can help me make my decision it would gladly help me make my decision.

I'm near Downtown BK, not far from Atlantic & Smith St. My service w/ AT&T is pretty good on my 4S w/ 4G service. With the exception of certain buildings, service throughout NYC is pretty good. I don't experience dropped calls anywhere near as much as when I first got the 3 so huge improvements. I can't really remember the last time I had a dropped call. 4G data speeds are fine when I'm out and about, inside (garden apt) phone calls work fine, data is slower. Can't say about AT&T LTE service at this time.

RE: data speeds, I tried out a TMO SIM on prepaid to see if it would be worth the switch but coverage in the apartment isn't very good for me. I also have an iPad w/ VZW service and the LTE speed is GREAT. Just remember that w/ VZW, you can't use data & voice at the same time on the iPhone.

Hope that helps!

 

[Pinkstiletto66]

I'm near Downtown BK, not far from Atlantic & Smith St. My service w/ AT&T is pretty good on my 4S w/ 4G service. With the exception of certain buildings, service throughout NYC is pretty good. I don't experience dropped calls anywhere near as much as when I first got the 3 so huge improvements. I can't really remember the last time I had a dropped call. 4G data speeds are fine when I'm out and about, inside (garden apt) phone calls work fine, data is slower. Can't say about AT&T LTE service at this time.

RE: data speeds, I tried out a TMO SIM on prepaid to see if it would be worth the switch but coverage in the apartment isn't very good for me. I also have an iPad w/ VZW service and the LTE speed is GREAT. Just remember that w/ VZW, you can't use data & voice at the same time on the iPhone.

Hope that helps!

That helps a lot thank you. I'm actually near Underhill and St Marks and also by Newkirk ave. I go shopping occasionally downtown Brooklyn, Fulton St and when I had the 5 with sprint data was sooooo slow almost non existent. I'm just deciding if I really need data and talk at the same time. It's become useful on my phone and I'm a bit spoiled but then again being able to have good coverage is important as well. Has your service been the same in the past three year , better or worst?

 

[0970373]

That helps a lot thank you. I'm actually near Underhill and St Marks and also by Newkirk ave. I go shopping occasionally downtown Brooklyn, Fulton St and when I had the 5 with sprint data was sooooo slow almost non existent. I'm just deciding if I really need data and talk at the same time. It's become useful on my phone and I'm a bit spoiled but then again being able to have good coverage is important as well. Has your service been the same in the past three year , better or worst?

I've had every phone since the iPhone 3 and it has improved A LOT in that time. If you're getting the 5, I hear the LTE is pretty good. There's a TMO speed thread here and it seems it's pretty good. VZW has the most expensive iPhone service. If you have some sort of work discount and don't need it unlocked for travel, AT&T has been solid for me. Also, it's hard for me to give up my grandfathered unlimited plan but seriously considering moving to TMO when the new iPhone is released. Just something to think about.