[Q] Why is AT&T LTE faster than Verizons LTE?

[JGuinan007]

So my two year contract is up and I wanted to see what network was best to go with, my biggest concern is LTE and wich network is better that means T-mo is out, Sprint not ready in my area so that leaves AT&T and Verizon. Now I talked to reps at both AT&T and Verizon and nither one knew what they were talking about making outragous statements about why their LTE network was better than their compettitors. On my way out of the AT&T store the rep said one of their techs just came in and can explain it all to me. The tech seemed to know what he was talking about he showed me they are testing LTE in my area right now and showed me it was working on his phone. He told me if I got a LTE phone right now today I would get the fastest LTE around because no one is the network in the area right now unless they have an LTE phone already and have it turned on for LTE. He also told me once LTE is offically turned on here that I will lose LTE speeds because of all the other devices plugging into it but even with speeds being reduced after testing I would still get LTE speeds faster than Verizons LTE because LTE is a GSM technology and works better with GSM phones and GSM networks. Verizons network is CDMA and has to be reworked to make it compatable with LTE and right now isn't all that stable and it crashes all the time, and since the phones are set for CDMA/LTE the phone has to work harder causing more/faster battery drain. I forget all the technical words he used but the guy really seemed to know his stuff and did say that Verizon is working to make it's LTE stable and believes theyt would have everything fixed by the end of year but because it's CDMA/LTE it can never be as fast as GSM/LTE.

Anyway my question is Is he correct and AT&Ts LTE is faster than Verizons? or is that more BS with alot of technical terms thrown in?

 

[Stadsport]

For the most part, the number of devices connected to the network is the biggest factor. The more devices connected, the slower it will go.

There might be some truth to the fact that Verizon's LTE network is newer and therefore unstable (as we've seen in the past) but that doesn't mean it will be necessarily slower while it's working for that reason, and AT&T's LTE network is newer so I don't see how that would be a plus for them. It's true that AT&T phones are GSM, and LTE is based on GSM, but implying that strong UMTS/HSPA+ network coverage is going to magically supplement LTE coverage sounds like BS to me. This might make it easier for AT&T to roll out their LTE network for that reason, but that doesn't mean that they've even come close to meeting Verizon in coverage yet.

So, in a nutshell, there's some truth to it. It's faster for the time being since there's no one on it, but there's nothing technically BETTER about AT&T's LTE as far as I know. LTE is LTE; it just depends on the carrier's infrastructure (internet connections to towers, tower locations and coverage, etc) to determine the the quality and speed of connection.

Besides, if AT&T's abilities to keep up with new subscribers on their 3G network is any indication, it won't be long before their LTE networks is slower than Verizons

 

[JGuinan007]

Thanks

Thank you for clearing this up for me so your saying there is no difference between Verizon and AT&Ts LTE other than Verizon having a Larger Network right now.