Who's Got the Fastest mobile Broadband? Sprint, Verizon and At&T Speed Tests

So you open up your browser and hop over to Google. You type in something like:

"Who has the fastest movable broadband?"

Sprint

3 sites that look very familiar pop up saying stuff like:

Who's Got the Fastest mobile Broadband? Sprint, Verizon and At&T Speed Tests

"BroadbandAccess Evolution Data Optimized (Ev-Do) network from Verizon Wireless has been enhanced with Ev-Do Rev. A to deliver even faster data speeds and greater efficiencies. Fast downloads - typical speeds of 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps. Fast uploads - typical speeds of 500-800 Kbps."

"With a Sprint movable Broadband Card, you get midpoint download speeds of 600-1400 Kbps, peaking at 3.1 Mbps, and 350-500 Kbps midpoint upload speeds, peaking at 1.8 Mbps. Similar to Dsl, and about ten times faster than using a dial-up modem"

" At&T offers the broadband speed and responsiveness of BroadbandConnect...the latest 3G devices provide typical download throughput of 700 kbps to 1.7 Mbps for downloads and 500 kbps to 1.2 Mbps for upload"

Ugh.

Just give it to me level Doc. Speak English. How in the world is person supposed to form out who's the fastest with this 'can't sue me' lawyer-speak?

All the ranges seem to overlap. Even looking at the maximum speeds, Verizon and Sprint look identical...until, that is, you realize they are only theoretical. A best case scenario that's not too optimistic.

It's just like your speedometer's range that goes from 0 mph to 120 mph. Just because 120 mph is on your dashboard doesn't mean your rusty 16 year old Honda Civic Hatchback with the flashing engine check light is gonna make it.

The clubs also know you can't call them on it because 'there are too many variables'. What were the road conditions like? How fast were you going? When last have you had a tune-up? What was the weather like? Do you know how many cell phone towers were in the area? How many satellites were positioned colse to you at the time? Or my personal popular 'You were most likely roaming and we have no operate over other networks'.

It's like trying to get fresh organic vegetables at McDonald's. It's just not gonna happen.

It just is what it is my friend.

The only way down to the nitty gritty and feast on the raw truth is to get out into the wild. Covering of my own testing, I draw on the experiences of others from ComputerWorld, Gizmodo and jkOnTheRun. I'll give you a quick chronological recap of what happened with each:

ComputerWorld - Which 3G Network Is The Best? - 05/13/08

Location:

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut

Broadband Cards:

(At&T) Sierra Wireless Usbconnect 881, (Sprint) Novatel Wireless Ovation U727 and (Verizon) Sierra Wireless Usb AirCard 595U

Result: At&T had the top maximum speed (1.6 Mbps), midpoint download speed (755 Kbps) and upload speed (484 Kbps)

Gizmodo - The Definitive Coast-to-Coast 3G Data Test - 12/17/08

Location:

Austin, Boston, Chicago, New York City, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, San Francisco and the Bay Area

Broadband Cards:

At&T's Sierra Usbconnect 881, Sprint's Sierra Wireless Compass 597 and Verizon Wireless's Novatel Usb727

Results: Sprint had the top national midpoint download speed (1.4 Mbps) while At&T (640 kbps) had the top midpoint upload speed

jkOnTheRun - 3G SpeedTest: Ev-Do vs. Hsdpa in Phoenix - 12/27/08

Location: Phoenix, Az

Broadband Cards: Verizon Wireless Usb727, At&T Usb Quicksilver

Results: Verizon had the top download speed (2.1 Mbps) and upload speed (744 Kbps)

So here we've got 3 dissimilar tests all showing person else as the winner. It's hardly surprising. movable broadband speeds do vary from place to place. The only way to get a clear winner is to test in manifold locations, take a join averages and then see who comes out on top.

Since Gizmodo's test was the most comprehensive, it's fair to say its also the most reliable. Sprint is kicking butt in the movable broadband game. Even if you only correlate the tests Gizmodo performed in New York City alongside the tests ComputerWorld ran in Nyc, Sprint still beats At&T in download and upload speed.

Sprint is clearly the winner widespread and provides serious competition in every location. If put together the fact that they're the fastest, largest movable broadband network, you've got a duplicate whammy.

It's no wonder that Andy Abramson of Working anywhere recommends Sprint. He spends about 0 per month testing movable broadband and wireless internet linked services. Seems like he might know a thing or two.

To beat a dead horse even further...

I've personally tested it over 1001 miles of highway at 70 miles per hour (New Orleans to Jacksonville and Tampa to Atlanta). I had my association get dropped once...for 15 minutes total. That's solid.

Now before we all start bowing down to the awesome network that is Sprint, ComputerWorld points out some things you should know:

"Using this technology can be a bit like being on a roller coaster. I found that I could be screaming along at 1.1Mbit/sec. Only to have speeds slow to a crawl at 20Kbit/sec. A moment later. That's because, as with all cellular service, speed and reliability depend on a range of conditions, such as how far you are from a cell tower, how many other users are linked in your vicinity and how much data they're moving".

Who's Got the Fastest mobile Broadband? Sprint, Verizon and At&T Speed Tests

Best New BlackBerrys From Verizon, MetroPCS, Sprint And T-Mobile

If you're wondering which are the best new BlackBerry phones for this year, than read on. You have a choice out of the Bold 9650/9780, the Curve 3G 9330/8530, the Style, and the Storm 2. All are good choices in their own right; however, the Bold is my pick of the BlackBerry handsets. You can purchase the above BlackBerrys (new) from T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon on a two year contract. Phones, calling, messaging and data rates purchased under a contract from the above mentioned carriers are substantially cheaper than prepaid or no contract phones.

MetroPCS has a cheap and contract free option to get a BlackBerry Curve for per month all inclusive (unlimited calling, text and data). The disadvantage of MetroPCS is they currently only offer the Curve 8530, which is running on BlackBerry's operating system 5 (the latest version is 6), and have not as comprehensive coverage as some of the other networks.

Sprint Cs

The Bold 9650 (Verizon and Sprint) and 9780 (T-Mobile) is our choice BlackBerry. It is similar in many respects to the Curve 3G 9330 from a design and specifications point of view. The Curve is half the price of the Bold, which sports a faster processor, a premier looking steel casing, and a more advanced user interface. The Curve has been known to "freeze" on occasion when sending large numbers of emails and text messages; however, most Curve users enjoy their phone and have no issues. This being said for the extra the Bold is an attractive phone.

The new touch screen 4G Bold 9900 has been announced by BlackBerry at their annual conference in Orlando recently. This phone is sure to impress you. Similar in look to the current Bold with a full QWERTY keyboard. Though differs with a thinner frame (115 x 66 x 10.5 mm HWT), double the processor speed (1.2 GHz Snapdragon), 786 RAM, 8 GB of on board memory with the option to add a further 32 GB using the micro SD card slot, and the same 5 mega pixel camera as the current Bold (improved 720p HD video camera). Other major differences include a larger (2.8 inches) and greatly improved touch screen display (640 x 480 pixels). This screen allows you to pinch to zoom in addition to all the other popular features that the iPhone and Android phones sport. This is the first BlackBerry to have 4G capabilities, allowing the "liquid graphic" (that is what BlackBerry called it) screen to load web pages quickly. BlackBerry's new liquid graphics screen boasts the ability to load an entire webpage at once, hence, not causing part of the page to load while you navigate around a site. This phone will be running on BlackBerry's next generation operating system (version 7), making the Bold 9900 the most desired BlackBerry. You might be wondering when will it be available, from which providers and for how much. T-Mobile is the only provider to announce that it will stock the phone this September, however, it is expected that Sprint and Verizon will also stock the phone. With regard to price, this is not known as yet. With a new 2 year contract it is likely to cost between 0 and 0 directly from the cellular provider.

To sum things up the Bold 9650 and 9780 is currently the latest BlackBerry Bold devices available, however, the Bold 9900 and 9930 is due to launch later this year with Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile. T-Mobile is the only provider to confirm that they will stock the 9900 model and it is expected to be available in stores sometime in September.

Best New BlackBerrys From Verizon, MetroPCS, Sprint And T-Mobile