AT&T or Verizon?

[ChuckinSC]

Considering the new 4 LTE technology, who would be the better provider for someone who would be subscribing for maybe 1 or 2 months out of the year?

Sent from my iPad 2 using iPF

 

[enlightened]

How would you be subscribing for 2 months out of the year? Your contract runs continually for 2 years- can't break it up into pieces and "turn it off" when you don't want it, then turn it back on when you do.

 

[ChuckinSC]

The Apple site clearly states that data plans are available, month-to-month, through both companies.

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[jmbarker]

Unless AT&T and Verizon want to get even greedier and risk the wrath of Apple, data plans for the new iPad will (should) be same as current models which means (at least with AT&T) $25 per month pay as you go, meaning NO contract.

 

[ChuckinSC]

From the description. "No contract. No long-term commitment.
When you decide to activate 4G LTE data service, you can choose the amount of data per month you want to buy — with no long-term contract. So if you have a business trip or vacation approaching, just sign up for the month you’ll be traveling and cancel when you get back."

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[ChuckinSC]

Again, any thoughts on one vs. the other?

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[Lovespicyfood]

Would love to hear thoughts on this too! Not having a contract makes the 4G much more appealing to me! I don't want to be tied down to a contract if I don't be using it all the time. Having an option to buy a month at a time makes a lot of sense to me...

 

[freebirdforever]

As a Best Buy Mobile manager the best advice I can offer you is this:

It depends on your area. Verizon has better nationwide coverage while AT&T has (slightly) faster 4G speeds in some areas.

 

[AFAngryWarrior]

ATT has like a 1% LTE coverage area, the rest is covered by HSPA+ which is upgraded 3G and nowhere near 4G. Verizon's 4G network covers 196 major metro areas serving 200 million Americans.... We all know VZW has the most reliable network and I can vouch for their speeds. In my home my 4G service is faster than my ADSL service (Based on speedtest.net).

 

[SDM44]

ATT has like a 1% LTE coverage area, the rest is covered by HSPA+ which is upgraded 3G and nowhere near 4G. Verizon's 4G network covers 196 major metro areas serving 200 million Americans.... We all know VZW has the most reliable network and I can vouch for their speeds. In my home my 4G service is faster than my ADSL service (Based on speedtest.net).

True that AT&T's LTE coverage isn't everywhere, but it is in quite a few major cities in the US right now. I have a Verizon 4G MiFi and USB UML290 air card, an iPhone 4S and iPad2 on 3G, and a Droid on 4G LTE with AT&T (wife's phone).

In the Los Angeles area (within the county), here are some speed results I usually see....

iPhone 4S and iPad 3G (AT&T): 6-7 mbps
4G MiFi and usb air card (VZN): 14-18 mbps
Droid 4G LTE (AT&T): 20-28 mbps

Surprisingly, the 4G LTE on AT&T in the LA area is blazing fast. The same in SF and in Chicago last month. But I will admit once I leave the area then the Verizon 3G speeds are better than the AT&T 3G speeds. So like what somebody else mentioned above, use whatever is readily available in your area.

 

[MikesTooLz]

ATT is the winner at this point, in my opinion at least.

While yes Verizon currently has a bigger LTE footprint, the iPad now supports HSPA+. What this means is that with ATT you have 4G in their LTE coverage (73mbps) and when out of range you fall back to HSPA+ (21mbps).

With verizon you would have 4G in their LTE coverage(73mpbs) and fall back to 3G when out of range of LTE(3mbps).



I wish they would have put in radios for both carrier frequencies.

 

[Seadog]

My iPad with the original unlimited data plan is on AT&T. AT&T has a large coverage area claimed for 4G in my area. I do not have any personal experience with the 4G, but I have always had good service from them. No brainer for me.

 

[nizmoz]

AT&T at the most 4-6mbps down, and a lot of times in buildings it doesnt work well. Verizon works everywhere, and the 3G is snappy even though speed tests show it slower than AT&T the web pages come up quicker.