Carrier Wars: Verizon Wireless speed test results
Well folks, the numbers are in. Last week we asked Verizon Wireless subscribers to break out their favorite EV-DO handsets and see how Big Red’s 3G network stacks up against the competition. So far we’ve only covered one of the big US carriers, AT&T, so Verizon represents our second of four. Despite terrible results in some regions, AT&T’s 3G network set the bar pretty high with a raw average of 933kbps on the downlink side — yeah, we were shocked also — but clocked an atrocious 180kbps raw uplink average. So, how did VZW stack up against AT&T? You’ll just have to hit the jump to find out.
The results below are as of 11am Eastern this morning so tests posted in the comments after that point in time are not accounted for. Also, most readers complied with our request to specify which handset they were using to perform their speed tests. Some however, did not. We specifically asked for this info in order to separate EV-DO Rev. A phones from older, slower EV-DO Rev. 0 phones. Apropos, any results that did not have a handset model listed and weren’t obviously Rev. A (pretty easy to tell as Rev. 0 upload speeds have a ceiling just north of 150kbps) were omitted. We also omitted results that only listed max speeds, since they mean absolutely nothing. Ok, here goes:
- Average download speed, EV-DO Rev. A: 701kbps
- Median download speed, EV-DO Rev. A: 440kbps
- Average upload speed, EV-DO Rev. A: 322kbps
- Median upload speed, EV-DO Rev. A: 286kbps
As you can see Verizon came in well short of AT&T on the download side, averaging 232kbps slower than its GSM rival. In other words, according to the results posted by our readers across the country, AT&T’s network is a whopping 33 percent faster than Verizon’s on the downlink side. The median download speed was also significantly lower than AT&T’s; 440kbps compared to 840kbps. The tide takes a sharp turn where upload speeds are concerned however, as Verizon’s raw average of 322kbps trumps AT&T by 142kbps, or a massive 79 percent.
As with AT&T, the numbers were a bit skewed by tall peaks and deep valleys. As such, we trimmed the downlink data just like we did with AT&T’s numbers and — again to our surprise — VZW’s results were affected even more than the AT&T results:
- Average EV-DO Rev. A download speed, top and bottom five results discarded: 629kbps
- Average EV-DO Rev. A download speed, top and bottom 10 results discarded: 583kbps
Bottom line: If you gobble up a lot of data as most smartphone users do, Verizon is definitely not the quickest draw in the West. If uploading and sharing video, images, etc is your thing however, Verizon’s EV-DO Rev. A-capable handsets wipe the floor with AT&T. Granted, an average speed of 322kbps is still pretty pathetic but it’s nowhere near as pathetic as AT&T’s average of 180kbps.
For those of you still holding on to the past and rocking EV-DO Rev. 0 phones, here’s how your gray-haired handsets fared amongst our readers:
- Average download speed, EV-DO Rev. 0: 548kbps
- Median download speed, EV-DO Rev. 0: 569kbps
- Average upload speed, EV-DO Rev. 0: 60kbps
- Median upload speed, EV-DO Rev. 0: 55kbps
Rev. 0 handsets on VZW apparently aren’t too shabby on the download side but as expected, upload speeds are a total disaster. We only saw results from 28 Rev. 0 users however, so take these numbers with a grain of salt.
Well there you have it people — did Verizon come in where you thought it would? Surprised? Shocked? Indifferent? Sound off in the comments section below and stay tuned for the next installation of Carrier Wars.
For those who want to play with the numbers, here is the data for Rev. A and here is the data for Rev. 0. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: The results of these tests are not collected in a controlled environment and therefore should not be considered to represent a concrete indication of the above carrier’s 3G network speeds and/or performance in general. These results merely provide the average 3G network speeds of the above carrier as experienced by those readers who perform speed tests and share their results. Stop whining.
Uh, hello people… why do you think the rest of the world went GSM – to take advantage of the faster internet capabilities. CDMA cannot keep up with HSPA and will never keep up henceforth the move to LTE. I’ve been doing this for 8 years and could have told you the results before you even began the test. Cmon, please don’t insult our intelligence…
AT&T is the worst company I’ve ever dealt with in my life – on both a consumer and enterprise level (I’ve dealt with them in both capacities for the better part of 4 years). I’d take Verizon or T-Mobile over AT&T and their “speed” to avoid watching them butcher a flat-rate bill on a monthly basis for 4 years.
Verizon is over rated and over priced! To me the term “reliability” also means reliability getting high speed which is less than I can say for Verizon. Is it better to have a slow connection 100% (no network can reach 100% uptime) of the time or have a fast connection 80% of the time?
That would be fine to have a fast connection 80% of the time. The problem is that AT&T barely gets that on a good day. As previous posters in this thread have pointed out, several tests run on the different networks seem to indicate that AT&T only has between a 60% and 80% success rate when it comes to their subscribers actually being able to get on 3G. When your paying a good chunk of change for that connection that is down right criminal.
I have AT&T and I’m in the DC metro area and I never have a problem with my service. In fact there are places that I go and I have 4-5 bars and Verizon customers don’t have 1 bar. I am still surprised by this though. I thought that Verizon would have better speeds.
I have no issues with ATT in the windy city. Meanwhile my friends with Verizon keep asking why I get much better speed.
I haven’t bothered to read all 6 pages of comments, but these “speed tests” are ridiculous. How many people from which location tested? If 70% are from the same metropolitan area, are the results really valid? How many attempts were used, which site was used to test, which device was it tested on, etc…? I can stand outside my apartment and get great coverage, but when I step inside it’s minimal. Does that mean the entire network is better/worse than others? I’ll stick to the independent researchers thanks. Their tests actually rule out inconsistencies.
I completely agree with the very first comment from Darren: speed is pointless if you do not have reliable coverage.
This was pretty much a waste of eveyones time. Like another comment said ” the fanboys msged in their results which were most likely exaggerated(since thats what fanboys do). SO the results are pretty much meaningless to anyone with 1/2 a brain.
lol…very true…the Catherine Zeta Jones commericals are the best
This is hilarious…
If the test results from BGR showed VZW as faster, all the VZW fanbois would be running around screaming “I TOLD YOU SO!!!” but instead, they’re running around crying like babies citing other tests.
Get over it with your self-righteous need to be #1 in everything.
I’ve had AT&T for 5 years and have nothing but good things to say about them. Yeah I drop a call once in a blue moon but overall it’s been great. I’m rockin’ a Iphone 3g, live in the Denver Metro area and couldn’t be happier. It’s a cell phone people! I think as a whole society is starting to think with the mentality of how fast can you get it to me, how cheap can you give it to me for, and if it doesn’t work while on my roadtrip through the middle of the sierra’s than I’m pissed! Come on people relax!
Yeah i can put a call on speaker then surf the web, send contact info, email, text, even give my parents step by step directions on their iphones while we are all on speaker. All on our iPhones of course with AT&T. Oh did i mention no one has ever lost a signal. I bet the people who always loose signal are in the woods, BFE, or Oklahoma(example). Huh. Got complaints about a signal then move outta the woods into a metro area. If not then consider why a company would spend$$$$ to put up a tower in the middle of nowwhere so you and your husband(cousin) can have a good signal while grandpa is milking the cow.lol
Verizon Guy, At&t purchaced Aloha Partners C Spectrum before the FCc Auction. Thats why they didnt even bid on the c block just the b. So no they didnt win the c block but they do have part of the c spectrum to fill out 87 percent of the nation. If you dont believe me Google Att C spectrum Aloha Partners
Again, all you AT&T fanboys the tests are skewed due to the biz vs. straight TCP connections. Two separate tests done with aircards had AT&T as the slowest of the big 4 carriers.
Exactly right.
I don’t see anything wrong with citing other test. You’d be a fool not to look at them all.
http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pdf/2008142.pdf
(http://www.jdpower.com/Telecom/ratings/wireless-call-quality-ratings-(volume-1)
One thing I noticed with the reporting of VZW users, is that ALOT were reporting with devices using EVDO Rev 0. This skews results as a lot more devices run Rev A. Rev A can be up to 3 times faster thus with Rev 0 being thrown in, its like racing a 1000 cars with one car having supercharged V-8s and the competitors having some V-8 but also some 4 bangers and V-6’s thrown in. Not saying Verizon would be the winner, but it would a more fair measure I believe.
Woah “Zach is idiot !!!” calm down! You have not looked at BGR much I think, they are not by any means AT&T fanbois.. they’ve really ripped them a new one when they have had failures at big events. I’m as surprised by the results as you are but there’s not some AT&T agenda here…
There is a reason why the rest of the world uses GSM/UMTS technology. Verizon is abandoning its CDMA to adopt LTE which is an Evolution of GSM Tech. I think these speed tests should be run again when AT&T ramps up to its 7.2Mbps service by the end of the year and Rev.A is still running 3.2Mbps
What really needs to be tested is LATENCY!!! not download/upload speed. The down/up figures may be important, but the key flaw in these 2 wireless networks are latency and this causes a poor page to page browsing experience. Id really like to know which carrier has better latency figures.
–NJ Tech Guy
I like this test, but I think we forgot to include one control. We should’ve taken speed tests during multiple times of day across all carriers. at&t is the fastest peak network, but the speeds aren’t very consistent throughout the day, and there are entirely too many gaps in coverage.
From my experience, Verizon is nearly as fast, but its speeds are consistent all day, and their capacity is well planned in major metro areas. at&t has times of day where the peak speed will fall dramatically, and living blocks from the Texas Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and the Dallas Cowboys Stadium (also in Arlington) will tell you that during games when many people are using phones near the stadiums, speeds and capacity will be atrocious for at&t the most, even with supplemental portable towers.
at&t’s claims are misleading. Its not just the vehicle, but the road. No Lambourghini Murcielago is fast on a dirt road. I bet even TMobileUSA’s more consistent and nearly as fast.
exactly, eric.
speeds is more than just mph. How fast are the pings? How many people are actually able to get on the highway?
My Verizon Speedtest showed the following data rates:
Download Speed: 318.89 Kbits/sec
Upload Speed: 74.28 Kbits/sec
Max Download speed: 405.03 Kbits/sec
Max Upload speed: 165.91 Kbits/sec
Date: July 29 @ 21:22:36 hrs.
Taken using Xtreme Labs Speedtest.
This was taken in Silver Spring, MD.
In Ashburn VA, I showed the following Speed Test Results:
Download Speed: 259.14 Kbits/sec
Upload Speed: 252.24 Kbits/sec
Max Download speed: 262.81 Kbits/sec
Max Upload speed: 401.25 Kbits/sec
Date: July 30 @ 11:33:22 hrs.
I really think it’s important to call attention to the fact that even http://mobilespeedtest.com says that blackberry results are inaccurate- I always post much higher speeds on my broadband card with vzw than I do with my blackberry- running through the BES or BIS proxy will absolutely change the results for upload and download speeds- need an actual showdown of like manufactured card to like manufactured card not an Iphone vs. a Blackberry as these are the primary two submissions happening here.