Re: Maps to Compare AT&T, T-Mobile, US Cellular, & Verizon Mobile Coverage and US State of the Mobile Union 1H 2021

Wade Garrett <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 10/5/21 4:52 PM, badgolferman wrote:
>> sms <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> There are now three (at least) maps that let you quickly compare
>>> coverage between networks.
>>> 
>>> FCC Map:
>>> <https://fcc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=6c1b2e73d9d749cdb7bc88a0d1bdd25b>
>>> 
>>> RootMetrics Map: <https://webcoveragemap.rootmetrics.com/en-US>
>>> 
>>> WhistleOut Map: <https://www.whistleout.com/CellPhones/Guides/Coverage>
>>> 
>>> US State of the Mobile Union 1H 2021; Carrier performance at national,
>>> state, and metro levels:
>>> <https://assets.ctfassets.net/ob7bbcsqy5m2/5RH6DcqWKrNjbfGDPkfWkb/677aec385a91e8f1859703242aff739e/RootMetrics_US_State-of-Mobile-Union-1H_2021-FINAL.pdf>
>>> 
>>> The coverage maps and analysis confirm my own experiences. Over the
>>> years I've had cellular service from many different carriers: GTE
>>> Mobilnet, Cellular One, AT&T (old), Pac Bell Wireless, Cingular, AT&T
>>> (new), T-Mobile, Verizon, and several MVNOs or carrier-owned prepaid
>>> services: Page Plus (Verizon), Consumer Cellular (AT&T), Cricket (AT&T),
>>> and Total Wireless (Verizon).
>>> 
>>> Pac Bell Wireless was by far the worst. It was the first GSM network in
>>> my area, and operated at 1900 MHz so in-building coverage was worse than
>>> networks using 850 MHz bands. They offered very attractive pricing when
>>> they launched, but were over-subscribed and unable to provide sufficient
>>> capacity. Pac Bell Wireless was acquired by Cingular when SBC acquired
>>> Pacific Bell, then sold to T-Mobile when Cingular bought AT&T.
>>> 
>>> T-Mobile was not good because of coverage issues in the western U.S.,
>>> and the maps and the Rootmetrics report confirm that these coverage
>>> issues still exist outside of urban areas.
>>> 
>>> Consumer Cellular and Cricket, both on AT&T worked fine but Consumer
>>> Cellular, at the time, had no data plans with a sufficient amount of
>>> data for family plans. Now Consumer Cellular is very expensive for plans
>>> with sufficient quantities of data, plus they now limit the number of
>>> lines on an account to only three.
>>> 
>>> Cricket worked fine but at the time did not offer hotspot, and also they
>>> throttled data to 8Mb/s. Cricket now offers unlimited, unthrottled,
>>> data, and includes 15GB of hotspot data per line, but the price has gone
>>> up to $33 per line on a four line plan (they originally offered 5 lines
>>> for $100, ($20 per line)).
>>> 
>>> I’m currently using Total Wireless with 100GB of shared data per month
>>> on four lines, with 10GB of hotspot data per line, for a little under
>>> $100 per month including taxes and fees. Downsides of Total Wireless are
>>> a) no international roaming, not even to Canada and Mexico, b) no eSIM
>>> support (most MVNOs lack eSIM support), and c) no Apple Watch support
>>> (which requires eSIM support). Verizon is in the process of trying to
>>> buy all the América Móvil brands in the U.S., including Total Wireless
>>> <https://www.lightreading.com/ossbsscx/verizon-to-broaden-out-prepaid-offerings/d/d-id/772053>.
>>> 
>> 
>> My phone is 5G capable. I don’t care about LTE. T-Mobile is ahead of the
>> game with 5G coverage which is what matters now.
>> 
> Yup, just as long as you're downtown or along an interstate highway ;-)
> 

Not true. I get excellent 5G signal wherever I go. Speeds are not always
great but I still have coverage and use. 

A few months ago I drove from Naples, FL to Hampton, VA and had great
signal the whole way, including when I got off the interstate and took the
back roads as I entered Virginia. 

Admittedly the signal suffers inside my own house since it’s brick but when
I had Verizon several years ago it was the same story. I had to buy a mini
cell tower to receive phone calls. When I switched to T-Mobile they gave me
one for free but I stopped using it since WiFi calling is enabled.