Carrier T-Mobile vs. AT&T in NYC

[alent1234]

i'm in NYC with an AT&T and VZW phone
lately i'm liking AT&T a lot better. the VZW LTE is full of holes here

http://www.rootmetrics.com/compare-...w-york-city-and-tri-state-area-november-2013/

As recent as Nov. 13, VZW is still king of NYC. They are actively deploying 2x20 B4 AWS LTE across the city to supplement their 2x10 700 LTE network.

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T-Mo's speeds might be slightly better, but that comes at the price of lower overall reliability.

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[NotJohnnyQuest]

If you plan on moving your carrier, please consider selling your data plan instead of killing it. The value of that unlimited data can't be overstated.

Eh, I figure all carriers will offer unlimited data again eventually. We're reaching the point of diminishing returns as far as speed goes; next the carriers will have to start offering more data to differentiate themselves. With enough pressure from T-Mo and Sprint, maybe the big boys will have to start offering unlimited again.

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As far as selling my unlimited plan goes: I'd love to pick up an easy $700 but just don't want to go through the hassle of getting a new number.

 

[jav6454]

Eh, I figure all carriers will offer unlimited data again eventually. We're reaching the point of diminishing returns as far as speed goes; next the carriers will have to start offering more data to differentiate themselves. With enough pressure from T-Mo and Sprint, maybe the big boys will have to start offering unlimited again.

I wouldn't be so sure of that.... Verizon and AT&T have made it very clear, those ain't coming back.

Remember data is a much more important and precious commodity right now to offer it so freely.

 

[Col Ronson]

Yeah, although I do find it's harder to keep a signal when you walk deep into buildings in Manhattan sometimes. My signal with AT&T is actually spotty right now inside my own apartment that faces the back. Wouldn't want it to get any worse.


I'm aware of how valuable the unlimited data on AT&T is, but I only use 1.5GB a month on average. I could even go with the 2.5 GB of data on T-Mobile and save more (how much do they throttle you after you pass your limit--to 3G speeds? I could live with that).

Paying for an unlocked phone and then paying for sim cards in different countries doesn't appeal to me too much; I like the idea of being able to keep my US number while traveling.

The 2.5GB Tmobile plan throttles you after 2.5GB. The unlimited plan has no throttling.

The difference between the Tmo/ATT Unlimited plans is ATT throttles, and ATT has no mobile hotspot. The Tmo plan gives you 2.5gb mobile hotspot.

 

[barkomatic]

I'm a recent switcher to T-Mobile from AT&T. I'm very much satisfied with T-Mobile, and I haven't hit EDGE once, and I don't live near a big city, the closest one is Philadelphia and that's an hour away. But anyway, I live in the suburbs and have great service. The general outlook on T-Mobile is that they're horrible outside of a big city, but that simply isn't true for most areas.

That's great, but you are the exception not the rule (for now). One person's experience does not mean that will be the experience of everyone, and if you compare coverage maps between AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile then it's obvious that T-Mobile has a long way to go to catch up overall. However, if you tend to stay put in a good coverage area than T-Mobile is a great value. T-Mobile has no coverage at all in most rural areas in states that I visit--but AT&T and Verizon does.

Eh, I figure all carriers will offer unlimited data again eventually. We're reaching the point of diminishing returns as far as speed goes; next the carriers will have to start offering more data to differentiate themselves. With enough pressure from T-Mo and Sprint, maybe the big boys will have to start offering unlimited again.

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As far as selling my unlimited plan goes: I'd love to pick up an easy $700 but just don't want to go through the hassle of getting a new number.

I have to agree with jav6454, unlimited isn't coming back on the major carriers. In fact, if T-Mobile and Sprint reach a point of network parity with AT&T and Verizon -- then those carriers will eliminate unlimited data as well.

However, once LTE advanced comes out, I think we may start to see a shift in the way carriers price data. No one will have unlimited data on the fastest available speeds, but for varying prices people will get throttled down to HSPA+ or lower depending on how much you pay. In other words, you won't have an "unlimited" plan that throttles you down to unusable EDGE speeds anymore but something in between.

 

[alent1234]

unlimited might come back
my first cell phone had 400 minutes and 1000 night/weekend minutes. and calling someone on verizon used up your minutes as well.
now everyone has unlimited minutes.

in the late 1990's the hard line carriers also had problems with unlimited minutes similar to today's data issues

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The international free data is indeed Edge speed -- though it's still great that T-mobile offers it at all.

Keep in mind that outside NYC and other select major cities in the U.S. T-Mobiles data drops to Edge and general coverage is very spotty. The charts above give the impression that T-Mobiles service is comparable to AT&T -- but that's just not the case right now. This may not be an issue for you though.

If you didn't have grandfathered unlimited on AT&T then I'd definitely say switch to T-Mobile. However, as it stands I'd stick with AT&T and perhaps consider paying for an unlocked iPhone you can stick a local sim into.

t-mobile doesn't need to be as good as att or vzw. just good enough and cheap enough for their customers. i rarely leave NYC and when i do, LTE speed is not that big a deal. they have LTE/HSPA+ in most population centers over 100,000 people which is good enough for most people

 

[Apple Trees]

unlimited might come back
my first cell phone had 400 minutes and 1000 night/weekend minutes. and calling someone on verizon used up your minutes as well.
now everyone has unlimited minutes.

in the late 1990's the hard line carriers also had problems with unlimited minutes similar to today's data issues

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t-mobile doesn't need to be as good as att or vzw. just good enough and cheap enough for their customers. i rarely leave NYC and when i do, LTE speed is not that big a deal. they have LTE/HSPA+ in most population centers over 100,000 people which is good enough for most people

Unlimited is NEVER coming back. The only reason Sprint and T-Mobile still offer it is because they cannot compete on coverage.

 

[Coleman2010]

I'm very happy with T-Mobile LTE in NYC.

The only time I drop to 3G or Edge is when I visit family in Virginia. When I'm in VA I tether data from of my AT&T unlimited data iPad.

 

[Col Ronson]

unlimited might come back
my first cell phone had 400 minutes and 1000 night/weekend minutes. and calling someone on verizon used up your minutes as well.
now everyone has unlimited minutes.

in the late 1990's the hard line carriers also had problems with unlimited minutes similar to today's data issues

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t-mobile doesn't need to be as good as att or vzw. just good enough and cheap enough for their customers. i rarely leave NYC and when i do, LTE speed is not that big a deal. they have LTE/HSPA+ in most population centers over 100,000 people which is good enough for most people

Data is more of a strain on a network than voice service. The whole point of tiered data plans is to discourage you from using data from the network; constantly. The reason theres unlimited voice because cell companies know nobody is going to stay on the phone for 12 hours; but someone might watch streaming video for 12 hours nonstop (netflix anyone? haha). The reason they offer unlimited voice/text is because those things cost them basically nothing. And lets face it, unless you use your phone for business, a good majority of people dont talk more than 1000minutes/month.

Unlimited data wont come back. There is a lot more money to be made on tiered data plans.If it does come back, it will be in the far far far future.
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as to your point though; yes Tmobile has LTE/HSPA+ coverage in most major cities. Covering "200 million people" is not a made up number. Tmobile isn't going to cater to people who live in the middle of nowhere. Why upgrade a tower to serve maybe 20 people? Like all things, if you live in the middle of nowhere, expect to pay more for everything.