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I'm jealous of some of the speeds some of you guys in other LTE neighborhoods are getting, but so far my speeds in and around the Chicago burbs are no where near the 40 megs down or consistently at 20 megs down.
The fastest i've been able to hit are 25down and 9up right outside Chicago, on the road, in a suburb northwest of Chicago. On a consistent basis, I usually get about 9up and 9down at home on the northside of Chicago and the same applies when i'm 25 or 30 miles out in the burbs...
I found an interesting PC Magazine article i thought i'd share because it details why Chicago may be experiencing slower speeds than other areas such as in Houston and Atlanta.
I like the speeds I consistently get on this phone and find browsing the web on it speedy though; very happy with the skyrocket! How fast do you consistently get and where are you located?
PC Magazine: Why is AT&T LTE Fast In Houston, Slow In Chicago?
AT&T's LTE is the fastest network in Houston, but it's nowhere near as fast in Chicago. In our tests in Houston, we found that AT&T's brand-new 4G, LTE network achieved stellar speeds averaging 24.64Mbps down. But in tests in Chicago, LAPTOP Magazine found anemic speeds: a mere 5.59Mbps down. What's up?
The Big Blue carrier launched its new 4G network on Sunday with five cities: Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Atlanta, and Chicago. As I pointed out in our test results story, Chicago stands out; it's not considered one of AT&T's strongest markets, and AT&T's LTE coverage there isn't as comprehensive as it is in the other launch cities.
Look at the results in the chart below. (The vertical axis is speed in Mbps, the Chicago data is from LAPTOP's study, and I'm really bad at making Excel charts on deadline.) What's striking is how consistent Verizon's speeds are compared to AT&T's wildly varying results.
AT&T vs. Verizon LTE Speeds
I've asked AT&T about these differences, and it hasn't gotten back to me yet. But the reason appears to be spectrum, and it means there's going to be much sharper differences in AT&T speeds city by city than there will be with Verizon's speeds.
Why AT&T is Fast - And Slow
According to Phone Scoop, AT&T has 24MHz of 700MHz spectrum in its Texas launch cities, but only 12MHz in Chicago. That means it can run its LTE network on paired 10-MHz channels in Texas, but it has to use 5MHz channels in Chicago. Verizon, on the other hand, has at least 22MHz everywhere in the nation, so it can use at least 10MHz channels everywhere.
AT&T plans to supplement its network with its AWS 1700MHz holdings as well, which could help the situation in the future. It's just not using it yet. As this Phone Scoop map shows, AT&T (then Cingular) also owns AWS spectrum scattered throughout the country, including in Chicago.
So is this what 5MHz LTE channels look like? Fortunately, we have another example of a 5MHz LTE rollout in the U.S.: MetroPCS. MetroPCS is actually running 4G LTE on even narrower channels in some cities, down to 1.4MHz. But in Dallas, for instance, MetroPCS is running its LTE network in a 5x5 arrangement.
In our Fastest Mobile Networks test, we found that MetroPCS's Dallas LTE network averaged 2.64Mbps and peaked at 6.3Mbps. That was in a loaded, real-life scenario, too. So AT&T's Chicago result of 5.93Mbps without any load is within that range, showing that AT&T's problem in Chicago may be spectrum.
Early this year, AT&T's chief technology officer John Donovan told MuniWireless that the company needs 10Mhz channels for optimal speeds.
"You can deploy [LTE] using 5×5, but that doesn’t last you very long given the way data is being used today," Donovan told the site.
AT&T argues that the solution is to merge with T-Mobile and buy Qualcomm's 700MHz spectrum as well. Qualcomm has some 700MHz spectrum in the highly populated Northeast Corridor and California that AT&T has proposed to buy. T-Mobile doesn't have any 700MHz spectrum at all, though; the advantage there would be to increase AT&T's 1700MHz AWS holdings.
AT&T's plan also seems to assume the carrier won't use any of its existing 850MHz or 1900MHz spectrum for LTE, including the spectrum that's currently used for 2G EDGE. According to a chart at the bottom of this MuniWireless story, that's where AT&T's spectrum strength is: while Verizon owns more 700Mhz spectrum than AT&T, AT&T generally owns considerably more 1900Mhz than Verizon.
What This Means For You
Cities where AT&T has more 700MHz spectrum will probably roll out earlier and have better speeds. According to Phone Scoop, that includes Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Washington.
Cities where AT&T has less 700MHz spectrum will have slower speeds; that includes Miami and LA. And areas where AT&T has neither 700MHz or AWS spectrum will get LTE last of all; that doesn't include many major cities, but much of the states of Iowa, West Virginia, Kentucky and the Florida Panhandle all fall under this category.
T-Mobile has turned to HSPA+ 42, which it argues is a more efficient way to use small amounts of spectrum, but AT&T has said it won't use that technology, although it's compatible with the carrier's technology path. In our Fastest Mobile Networks tests in New York City, a strong T-Mobile market, we saw speeds on the carrier's then-HSPA+ 21 network averaging 4.57Mbps down. HSPA+ 42 should be faster than that.
If AT&T is denied the easy answer of swallowing T-Mobile and all its spectrum, the carrier is going to have to get creative to match Verizon's nationwide coverage and speeds.
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Don't mess with Texas!
On AT&T LTE that is
Forgive me for not feeling bad for you and your 20+ download...
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Using 5Mhz of spectrum and Category 3 LTE UE, users can in theory reach up to 40mbps peak download speeds. In reality, we're looking between 20-30mbps peak download speeds.
Guess Vegas is one of the "slow" LTE cities for AT&T, been seeing ~25M down and ~10M up pretty consistently.
jc2048 said:
Guess Vegas is one of the "slow" LTE cities for AT&T, been seeing ~25M down and ~10M up pretty consistently.
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I'm pretty sure Vegas is 2x10Mhz.
cpcrazyfly said:
Forgive me for not feeling bad for you and your 20+ download...
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haha, sucks i can only get it when i'm passing by a certain area in my car though...
In Plano TX (Dallas Suburb) I am getting 35/12 consistently. Max I've gotten was 57/10 in various tests.
milan03 said:
I'm pretty sure Vegas is 2x10Mhz.
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jeeze im in new york city in my house in the bronx i only get 10MBPS download. on the highway going to work i got around 20MBPS. the best i ever got was around 4oMBPS and that was at a place in mid town.
bxsteve31 said:
jeeze im in new york city in my house in the bronx i only get 10MBPS download. on the highway going to work i got around 20MBPS. the best i ever got was around 4oMBPS and that was at a place in mid town.
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Did you really just bump a thread from 2011
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Xcrazydx said it best its another noob invasion.
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mtdew said:
Xcrazydx said it best its another noob invasion.
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They seem to come in big waves. It will quiet down for a while and then another big wave of necro bumps, best Rom threads and all around idiocy will rain down upon us.
Hopefully they leave soon and the dumb stuff stops. It would be so much easier if I had the report button back on tapatalk. But I saw pr talking about it costing too much or something, so whatever.
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xcrazydx said:
They seem to come in big waves. It will quiet down for a while and then another big wave of necro bumps, best Rom threads and all around idiocy will rain down upon us.
Hopefully they leave soon and the dumb stuff stops. It would be so much easier if I had the report button back on tapatalk. But I saw pr talking about it costing too much or something, so whatever.
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ugh... would you guys rather he create a new one? whats with all the hate? can't put new thread on, if you find an old one, you can't use it either coz ur gonna get called noob. geez... you guys should chill out a bit.
droidbabyxda said:
ugh... would you guys rather he create a new one? whats with all the hate? can't put new thread on, if you find an old one, you can't use it either coz ur gonna get called noob. geez... you guys should chill out a bit.
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It wouldn't be a problem if they posted something that mattered by being relevant or being some question that couldn't be answered by search.
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BaconStep said:
Did you really just bump a thread from 2011
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Hey its the thing to do now.
Sent from my mom's basement
Since the thread's bumped anyway...
Interesting read. It might explain the issue I've been having ever since AT&T rolled LTE out here (Seattle) where sometimes text messages don't come in until later.
Wish ATT would update towers....
ATT drives me crazy sometimes ... I had a choice between Verizon and ATT for my workphone...I choose ATT because at the time I'd get at least a bar in my house vs none with Verizon.
While at work, everyone who is on Verizon got a 3G signal while I'm stuck on Edge with ATT.... so when I go out to lunch trying to surf the web is a no go....
I was hoping that they would at least give HSPA+ in the area with ATT, but alas the other day I setup a new droid for a user and they got a 4G LTE signal on Verizon .... I cried a little.
I know that since it's a small out in the middle of nowhere town but....I gotta say when I see ATT & Verizon commericals ...makes me think that Viz gots it goin on.
I think both are all hype they just want r monthly fee
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Im getting lte speeds in Brooklyn. anyone else? did it go live today?
No not yet. Damn can't wait lol. BTW what color sim card you have.
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Reading reports of Phoenix and San Diego too. A big announcement is coming.
In NYC, no LTE here.
LTE is on in NY, but its also still in the testing phase. So not all the towers are active and it isnt running at full capacity yet. Check out engadget for more info
No LTE in Los Angeles yet! Damn it, I just moved out of San Diego.
Just got about 12mb up and 12 down in Manhattan by 23rd street.
Been getting 20 down and 10 up in lower manhattan and borough Park, Brooklyn
Love it!
I think only the tower in midtown is on?
OK have LTE now, have 28D/14U, near Ridgewood. I think only turned on for a few hours since I didn't get LTE in the afternoon.
I work in Grand Central Terminal, no LTE inside platform area (but excellent att coverage) but LTE outside! very nice
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Anyone have an idea when LTE will be available in the San Fernando Valley? I don't understand how AT&T could ignore two-thirds of the City of Los Angeles?
On HSPA+ I'm getting about 5-6 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up. But part of the joy of owning a One X is its LTE capabilities.
It's weird that Verizon did the SFV with their LTE rollout, but AT&T ignored it. I think if you head south to ventura blvd/405 area, there is LTE.
I asked this question as I live here too. They said since they have 50ish towers out here they're doing them all and don't expect it done Until the end if the year.
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soapbubble said:
I asked this question as I live here too. They said since they have 50ish towers out here they're doing them all and don't expect it done Until the end if the year.
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Well, it's about the end of the year and no hint of LTE in The Valley. Usually you hear people mention brief spottings of LTE service as the towers are tested before the official launch. In Santa Clarita, I saw Verizon LTE service full time for two weeks before VZW announced it as officially available.
mbaran said:
It's weird that Verizon did the SFV with their LTE rollout, but AT&T ignored it. I think if you head south to ventura blvd/405 area, there is LTE.
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There is no LTE service anywhere north of Sunset Blvd, according to their coverage maps.
S8B said:
Anyone have an idea when LTE will be available in the San Fernando Valley? I don't understand how AT&T could ignore two-thirds of the City of Los Angeles?
On HSPA+ I'm getting about 5-6 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up. But part of the joy of owning a One X is its LTE capabilities.
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The Valley's less than half of the actual city's population these days. Either way, they may be ignoring the ~1.75 million residents of The Valley, but when you consider the ~13 million in the LA/OC county areas, most of which are covered now, AT&T's proudly calling LA an LTE city and not in any rush to finish up it seems.
On the brighter side, I've seen reports (and photos) of new LTE compatible panels on AT&T towers near Balboa & the I5, and even up in Santa Clarita near Lyons and the I5. There's also a completely new tower someone's thrown up at Devonshire/Reseda, hopefully it's AT&T LTE.
LTE in the San Fernando Valley
LTE is finally rolling out in the San Fernando Valley.
I was in North Hollywood, Reseda, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana, and Encino last night and all these places were covered in LTE. Signal strength was great and download speeds are amazingly fast. I live in Sherman Oaks and I'm seeing speeds as high as 30 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up in my home. I was seeing 5 down in NoHo, but that may have only been because I caught the beginning of the rollout in my area. Very exciting.
Note: I have a friend that lives in Northridge that claims she did not see LTE out in that area.
Im on tmobile and bought a htc one s bought really like how the htc one x looks and want to get it , i really like how fast tmobile 4g is here in los angeles, i get 18mbps down & 3mbps up , is at&t this fast or faster ? here in l.a of course
I'm not in LA but I have seen 35+ mbps. I see 25-28 often and average probably 15-20. The absolute slowest I have ever seen on this phone was around 8mbps which is still insane for a cell phone. Up is always around 10-15.
_MetalHead_ said:
I'm not in LA but I have seen 35+ mbps. I see 25-28 often and average probably 15-20. The absolute slowest I have ever seen on this phone was around 8mbps which is still insane for a cell phone. Up is always around 10-15.
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that sounds pretty good to me , well taht means im going with at&t
I saw 36 mb in NYC over the weekend
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_MetalHead_ said:
I'm not in LA but I have seen 35+ mbps. I see 25-28 often and average probably 15-20. The absolute slowest I have ever seen on this phone was around 8mbps which is still insane for a cell phone. Up is always around 10-15.
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I second this. I'm also in the Chicago area, so I guess my post doesn't help sample size, though. But I also have been amazed at how much better my cell signal strength has been with the LTE. The 750mhz spectrum really helps get inside buildings and penetrate walls. I think this is something definitely worth taking into consideration, and often overlooked by people who are willing to settle for HSPA+. No matter how much your provider improves transfer rates on HSPA+, the signal strength isn't getting any better unless they physically add a cell tower closer to you - good luck waiting for that to happen - or you get onto a lower frequency band, like LTE here in the states.
~16 no LTE & 20+ LTE in Glendale
Not sure if there is LTE outside downtown & close proximity
bgaccord said:
Im on tmobile and bought a htc one s bought really like how the htc one x looks and want to get it , i really like how fast tmobile 4g is here in los angeles, i get 18mbps down & 3mbps up , is at&t this fast or faster ? here in l.a of course
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I'm on a nexus s on t-mobile so my radio can't even take advantage of the faster HSPA+ but for me, in Portland OR, the coverage on tmo sucks compared to my wife's at&t (non-lte) phone. I'm just waiting for a kick ass LTE device with good dev support.
This is here in Phoenix.. this was the only screenshot I had but I get speeds over 30 mbps often.
I live east of LA downtown in the San Gabriel Valley... LTE coverage is very spotty still.
I know I'm not with at&t but here in Montreal with Bell I have around 50mb down and 19-20 up !
I visited Vegas two years ago, and ATT 4G (HSPA) network was horrible. I had great signal, but the system is so saturated that it was useless as far as data went. Phone calls i had no problem.
vegas was the same way when i was there in april. no improvement apparently. no lte in fresno yet but i thought this speed was pretty impressive. aprox 5 times faster than i was getting on my aria....
att 4g lte speed
i am in mid florida and i have the galaxy note i hit a 4g lte patch n
ear tampa i hit 53.93 mbps
Raleigh NC. I had let outside of the city. Isn't fo far inside it to see top speed
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I'm on LTE all the time in the metro Atlanta area and I've never seen anything below 20mbps and I average in the upper 30's/low 40s since I updated to the 1.82 radio. I've hit over 60mbps on numerous occasions. Not sure if it's the new radio or if AT&T strengthened the signal but I never got LTE at my house but now I have full bars and great speed. I live about 50 miles north of Atlanta also.
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Hopefully att will bring lte to Seattle soon.
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incofstupid said:
Hopefully att will bring lte to Seattle soon.
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I'm surprised they haven't already, we got it recently here in Oklahoma City and it's been wonderful. I imagine it's a lot more work to deploy a network there due to Seattle's topography and building density.
Granted its 1 A.M.
I never get under 40 mb/s here in south Fort Worth.
I'll take my hspa+ 42 over any lte provider right now, the fact remains lte coverage isn't nearly as good, sure it works in some area's and yes its blazing fast, but anything over 5 down on a cell phone is gravy, and over 10 when tethering is just fine.. Went on a road trip about 500 miles from ft. Lauderdale to Tampa with my friend who has verizon gnex, and my gsii on Tmobile... Lol he lost lte the second we left the city, while I tethered streaming netflix/sling player... So yea, hands down ill take coverage over speeds that aren't even needed... My parents have a second home kinda on the outskirts of a boondocks city, my dad replaced the Internet there with his phone, and he sees 21 down and 3 up...
Also, let's see how well lte works when all of a sudden 35% of the cellphone market, almost 80% more users on lte, start using it within one day.(iphone5).
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Not LTE, but I think its impressive for HSPA. IMO.
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Hi all,
What have you been getting for download speeds on Sprint's LTE plus?
I'm in Chicago's south suburbs and have been averaging 12-18 Mbps according to the speedtest app. I checked the coverage map and everywhere around me in in the LTE plus zone. I really thought it would be better.
Maybe it's not implemented around me yet. I was getting about the same speeds on my note 4.
TIA
Meh ... Phoenix
I went from 14ish (s7e) to 20-40 depending on where I the area I am.
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Im not getting anything faster than my s7e does ...