Verizon, T-Mobile winners in PC World 4G tests

PC World, in conjunction with testing company Navarum, tested the "4G" services from AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T), Sprint (NYSE:S), T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) during the first six week of 2011, conducting trials in 260 locations in 13 different U.S. cities.

In the laptop modem category, Verizon's 4G LTE service, available in 38 U.S. markets, was the clear winner, offering average download speeds of 6.44 Mbps that were twice as fast as second-place T-Mobile's HSPA+ service, which was clocked at 2.83 Mbps. AT&T came in third, offering average throughput speeds of 2.48 Mbps, while Sprint's WiMAX service came in a 2.15 Mbps. One caveat lies in the fact that fewer subscribers use Verizon's new LTE network.

T-Mobile was the clear winner in the smartphone data download category. The publication tested the T-Mobile HTC G2, which recorded average download speeds of 2.28 Mbps, which was about 52 percent faster than the second-fastest phone, Sprint's HTC Evo 4G. Sprint's phone had an average download speed of 1.5 Mbps.  

PC World tested average download speeds on AT&T's network using the Apple iPhone 4 and found that the speed (1.4 Mbps) increased 15 percent over the speeds it measured on the same device in 2010.

Verizon Wireless' 3G EV-DO service faired worse than last year and came in at the bottom of the heap in terms of average download speed, 1.01 Mbps on the Motorola Droid 2. The connection speeds PC World measured on Verizon's 3G EV-DO service via the Motorola Droid 2 either stayed the same or decreased in 10 of its testing cities since last year. The average download speed was 1.01 Mbps.

For more:
- see this PC World article

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