Is Verizon Wireless Better Than At&t Mobility Like Their Tv Commercials Claim?

We have watched the wireless carriers like AT&T

, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile battle each other for years. The industry changes every few years and advertising and marketing messages that were used in the 1990's should no longer work, but that does not stop these giants from swinging them around like giant old swords. Do they still work?

National television advertising shows Verizon has resurrected the claim their network is better than AT&T. In response AT&T is answering the threat and making some challenges of their own.

Who is right? The simple answer is both. Ask anyone in advertising and they will tell you to promote your strengths and leave out your weaknesses. That is exactly what both sides are doing. It may make a great ad war, but the customer get's confused.

When this type of marketing first started years ago it may have had more of a basis in fact, but today as the carriers have spent billions upgrading and strengthening their network and all have excellent quality.

If AT&T has had a problem in recent years it may be because of the explosion of the iPhone. This problem is simply caused by too many customers and too much success, too quickly.

Generally speaking the average customer gets good quality from all providers.

The details are a little murky and come from the fact that the wireless industry is constantly changing. Networks are upgrading on an ongoing basis to improve performance tower-by-tower across the United States.

Over the years we have watched network upgrades from 2G to 2.5G to 3G and now 4G. The mistake comes if customers hear a carrier offers 4G they think it is that way network wide.

That is not true. The advanced features are only available in the markets that have been upgraded. That means different cities and even different places within a city have different standards.

It depends where the market is, and where in the network you are standing. The upgrade starts at some center point in a city and they advertise and market so people think they are everywhere in the market.

However most of the footprint in that market is still the previous version. Then they work to upgrade and expand the footprint, but it takes a few years. This is the same in markets all across the country.

It is often possible to have different network coverage strength as you drive around town. What is not fair is telling customers a city or an area is upgraded when only one portion is as they take years to spread the upgrade around the entire area.

The wireless experience is different from person-to-person, area-to-area, even within a particular city. You may have a great experience with one carrier, but your parents may have a lousy experience with the same carrier just a few miles away. How could that be?

A wireless network is only wireless for a short distance between your cell phone and the nearest tower. At that point it becomes a wire line call. The connection you have with the tower can be different based on a number of factors like how close you are, or is that tower an upgraded technology. These are the key differences.

If you are close, have no interference, and have a strong signal your connection will be much better experience than someone who is farther from the site, or is inside a building and have weak signal strength.

An example is when we visit the beach. At home we have strong signal from all the networks, but not at the beach. Only AT&T gives me a full strength signal there. Verizon and Sprint have just one bar and a weak signal.

How could that be? They all have towers on the island. Verizon and Sprint also have excellent quality networks on the island.

However for where I am standing only AT&T gives me strong signal. If I was on the other side of the building another network may have stronger signal meaning that would be best for me. The experience is different depending where you stand.

That's the secret to choosing.

So check coverage strength and compare. Don't just listen to advertising and hope. Where do you spend your time, at home, the office, shopping? The best way to find the best carrier for you is to test in every area you are.

During the first few weeks take it everywhere you go and keep your eye on the signal, and be exact.

You can always cancel your service with no penalties within the first few weeks. Make sure you know how long the return period is and then test your heart out.

It would be better if all the carriers would let you take a phone with you for a few weeks so you can compare signal strength and speed everywhere that you will go. That is how I learned of the differences since I have multiple test devices from all the major networks.

Most people think quality is the same for everyone. It is not. So to determine which phone and network is best for you pay less attention to the advertising and do a real life comparison. You will be much happier you did.

by: Jeff Kagan

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