AT&T
Verizon
Lagging behind AT&T’s stellar service is Verizon’s merely above-average performance. If you’re a power user who often snags photos or video from the web, you may feel a bit limited by Verizon’s reliability. Though coverage is generally quite good and download and upload speeds were excellent, it's this lack of reliability that holds Verizon back compared to AT&T.
T-Mobile
Nipping at Verizon’s heels is T-Mobile, though its issues differ from Big Red. Though T-Mobile's 4G speeds are roughly average for the US, comparatively lower coverage and the worst upload speeds of the four major carriers in Pittsburgh might give power users pause before jumping to T-Mo. However, it blows every other carrier away in 3G performance, so those with older phones or looking at budget off-contract options will want to consider T-Mobile.
Sprint
Of the four carriers in Pittsburgh we have data for, Sprint was the worst. But given that Pittsburgh has some seriously great coverage, even the worst carrier is still on par with the nationwide average. Though Sprint's response times were excellent, slow download speeds and only average coverage were sore spots that power users will feel restricted by. If you just need a phone to keep up with e-mail and make calls on the go, however, Sprint is still a fine choice.
3G Coverage
While most new phones these days will be compatible with newer, faster 4G service, if you've got an older phone (e.g. the iPhone 4S or earlier) or live in an area without 4G coverage, you'll have to rely on older 3G service. For 3G performance, T-Mobile has the category locked up by a huge margin. However, compared to what you can expect if you upgrade to a newer 4G-capable phone, no carrier does well. If you have an older—or bargain—phone on a pay-as-you-go plan, T-Mobile is the way to go here.
Meet the tester
A seasoned writer and professional photographer, Chris reviews cameras, headphones, smartphones, laptops, and lenses. Educated in Political Science and Linguistics, Chris can often be found building a robot army, snowboarding, or getting ink.
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