[Hidden-tech] AT&T vs Verizon vs T-Mobile

[Robert Heller]

Some things to consider (and that the cell companies are not going to talk 
much about):

In sparsely populated rural areas, the cell towers are also sparse.  This 
means lots of random "dead" spots.  None of the carriers are going to put up 
"lots" of cell towers in sparsely populated rural areas -- there are not 
enough subscribers to get the revenue from to pay either the capitial cost or 
the maintaince costs. Business finance 101.

Tree foliage atenuates cell signals (block, scatter, etc.).

5Ghz (5G "ultawideband") has 1/2 the range of 4G and is more atenuated by tree 
foliage.  This means you can basically forget about 5G ultawideband in 
sparsely towered places.

Oh, and cell signals don't go through granite (eg mountains).  You can expect 
poor cell service in "deep" valleys or the "wrong" side of hills and ridges.

Hills + forests are *bad* for cell coverage and 5G is worse than 4G. EM wave 
physics 101.

The coverage maps are probably not going to be very detailed (not high res)
and probably don't show all of the nooks and crannies where coverage is
lacking or poor.

At Wed, 19 Oct 2022 11:11:46 -0400 Michael Muller <tech at montaguewebworks.com> wrote:

> 
> Hey hidden folks,
> 
> I are considering moving my cell service off Verizon to AT&T, partly 
> because we now go to Warwick a lot and have zero Verizon service out 
> there. We've seen people getting texts and calls out near Moore's Pond, 
> while we can't.
> 
> Anyone currently have AT&T or Sprint/T-Mobile and have comparative 
> stories to tell about coverage in the "fringe" towns of Western Mass?
> 
> I don't want to say price is not important, but I'm nervous about using 
> a sub-carrier/MVNO that rides on someone else's network. Especially 
> because those services sometimes have less data available, and we use a 
> lot of data.
> 
> This website, below, seems to show coverage maps, and declares: "AT&T 
> has the widest network reach in Massachusetts for both 4G LTE and 5G 
> coverage, and takes the title for the best network in the state. Verizon 
> comes in second for 4G LTE coverage, with T-Mobile following very 
> closely behind in third place—though the Un-carrier's 5G coverage is 
> almost neck and neck with AT&T's state-best network."
> 
>   * https://www.whistleout.com/CellPhones/Guides/Best-Coverage-in-Massachusetts-USA
>     <https://www.whistleout.com/CellPhones/Guides/Best-Coverage-in-Massachusetts-USA>
> 
> Is that everyone's experience?
> 
> Does anyone use Boost Mobile, Metro or Cricket Wireless, and what's your 
> experience?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mik
> 

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