BYOD Faster Speeds? ~ AT&T vs. T-Mobile

**mixtape86** · 02-09-2012, 02:49 PM

Hey guys, I have been following the Straight Talk BYOD thread for the last few days, and this is really great news!

I currently have Virgin Mobile, but their data reliability and speed are somewhat weak, especially considering my location (New Jersey). The best I pulled down was 1473 kbps on a speed test, which I can only get at around 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning lol. I average about 450 to 800 kbps depending on the area, bars, time of day. I was alright with this for the longest time, but there will be days when I literally won't have any data for hours, sometimes days. The price is right, but you definitely get what you pay for. For instance, I haven't had any data on my phone for almost 24 hours. In their defense though, voice and SMS seem to always work. Just not MMS and data.

I am seriously considering Straight Talk, and am pricing Galaxy S2 phones now. Both T-Mobile and AT&T are very common in my area (or so I've been told), so it really comes down to reliability and speed. I will most likely go with an AT&T Galaxy S2, but is there a possibility I could get higher speeds if I go for the T-Mobile version of the phone with the Straight Talk T-Mobile sim instead?

AT&T is more popular in my area (and possibly everywhere in the US) so would that mean that their network consistently has more users fighting for bandwidth? Making it slower than T-Mobile? Or is AT&T more superior, and able to handle their subscribers? I only ask because T-Mobile used to be quite unreliable back in the day, with questionable service and a lot of no service areas, so I'm a little hesitant to jump back into their network. AT&T had a promotion a few years back about how they were "raising the bar" on their coverage.

One last question, I believe the Galaxy S2 uses HSPA+ which is AT&T's and T-Mobile's version of 4G. Will a Straight Talk sim card allow us to use AT&T's "4G" or just 3G? I know on Virgin Mobile, we use Sprint towers, but only 3G. No 4G is offered for prepaid (so no WiMax). Will Straight Talk take advantage of the 4G of a Galaxy S2?

Sorry for all the questions, I've been with CDMA for almost the last decade

.

**jcpwn2004** · 02-09-2012, 04:03 PM

I was in your exact same situation and I went with the at&t galaxy s2. Yes you use their "3.5g" speeds but not lte. As far as at&t having a congested network, I've really only heard of people having issues in places like san fransisco and new york.

**greatestNothing** · 02-09-2012, 04:45 PM

dang..i was happy for a second..I thought you were actually comparing speeds in here..

**dansamy** · 02-09-2012, 05:15 PM

We just have to be patient until enough people are rolled out onto the new BYOD program. Then we'll get a large enough sample to be able to determine what average speeds people can expect.

**mixtape86** · 02-09-2012, 05:54 PM

Sorry greatestNothing lol. Trust me, you don't want the speeds I posted

.

Hopefully we can get an answer for everyone next week

. Dansamy has a good point. It's really only a matter of time at this point. I recall a few members stating that their sim cards should be coming in by next week. So we should have a good idea sometime after Valentine's Day. I just hope it isn't capped

. I'm tired of throttled prepaid.

Good to know jcpwn2004. I love the price and voice quality of my CDMA prepaid Virgin Mobile, but I seriously haven't had mobile data in over 24 hours. This could possibly be the last straw for me. I hear that GSM is better for data users anyway. The only drawback is that I hear CDMA calls are of much higher quality than GSM. That's a price I can pay though for the "3.5G" speeds

, compared to the barely 3G speeds I get now.

**burnsmonkey** · 02-09-2012, 08:51 PM

Next week? I got free 3day fedex delivery on my sim and it will be here tomorrow. The bad part is i need to wait for my number to be ported to start using I think?

**fraydog** · 02-09-2012, 09:10 PM

T-Mobile's GSM calls are of a higher quality than AT&T's. Most of the time they're running higher AMR bandwidth than AT&T.

**aka414** · 02-09-2012, 09:54 PM

I think I'd rank the carriers call quality Tmobile > Sprint > Verizon, and a distant last AT&T.

There is an exception with Verizon, if you force EVRC or QCELP, it's definitely the clearest. I have forced QCELP and it sounds like an ISDN line.

**W2PMX** · 02-09-2012, 10:24 PM

Originally Posted by mixtape86

AT&T is more popular in my area (and possibly everywhere in the US) so would that mean that their network consistently has more users fighting for bandwidth? Making it slower than T-Mobile? Or is AT&T more superior, and able to handle their subscribers?

Yes, definitely.

IOW, when which one applies depends on when you ask. About 8 years ago I was a Cingular dealer, so of course I had a couple of free Cingular accounts. The service and quality were great initially, but as the system became loaded it deteriorated to the point that it was useless - calls dropping like flies. So I went with Verizon. Great service and quality. A few years down the line and they were so oversold (in my area - the situation is VERY area-dependent) that 9 out of 10 calls were getting dropped. So I went to AT&T (Cingular was AT&T by that time). Etc., round and round we go.

Now I'm on ST CDMA - and back when all this was going on, Sprint was known here by its almost total lack of coverage - and I very rarely even get a moment of "underwater" - never longer than a word, usually just part of a word.

So which carrier is better? When and where? No carrier is always better everywhere. Even in your case, there's going to be a huge difference between Newark and Cape May.

**mixtape86** · 02-13-2012, 11:32 PM

I've heard from many that CDMA voice quality cannot be matched by GSM, and to experience, CDMA is quite impressive, but I'm more concerned with these AT&T dropped calls that I'm reading about :/

I recall dating a girl about 7 years ago who had AT&T. We would constantly be disconnected. I honestly didn't think of it until recently, but I figured after the "raising the bar" promos they ran, service was much better.

Just an update everyone:

I picked up a used AT&T Galaxy S2 (I777) this past weekend. I don't know too much about rooting, but the previous owner used this phone on T-Mobile after rooting it. So assuming that both AT&T and T-Mobile use identical frequencies, I can still go with either at this point.

Thanks in advance,
can't wait to be a part of the ST community!

**dubba** · 02-14-2012, 06:26 AM

Originally Posted by mixtape86

I picked up a used AT&T Galaxy S2 (I777) this past weekend. I don't know too much about rooting, but the previous owner used this phone on T-Mobile after rooting it. So assuming that both AT&T and T-Mobile use identical frequencies, I can still go with either at this point.

Unlocking a phone allows it to be used on a different network. Rooting the phone does not allow it to be used on a different network. Rooting the phone allows for custom software to be installed on it.

ATT & Tmobile do not use identical frequencies for 3G/HSPA. For 2G/EDGE they both use the 850 & 1900mhz bands. For HSPA, ATT uses 850 & 1900mhz while Tmobile uses AWS 1700mhz band.

I have an I777 and it only supports HSPA on ATT's network. Using it on Tmobile you will only get EDGE speeds.

**powruser** · 02-14-2012, 06:43 AM

Originally Posted by mixtape86

I've heard from many that CDMA voice quality cannot be matched by GSM, and to experience, CDMA is quite impressive, but I'm more concerned with these AT&T dropped calls that I'm reading about :/

I recall dating a girl about 7 years ago who had AT&T. We would constantly be disconnected. I honestly didn't think of it until recently, but I figured after the "raising the bar" promos they ran, service was much better.

Just an update everyone:

I picked up a used AT&T Galaxy S2 (I777) this past weekend. I don't know too much about rooting, but the previous owner used this phone on T-Mobile after rooting it. So assuming that both AT&T and T-Mobile use identical frequencies, I can still go with either at this point.

Thanks in advance,
can't wait to be a part of the ST community!

Congratulations on your purchase! I also went with the AT&T Galaxy S 2, bought it new on eBay, a great deal at $425 shipped.

I also live in New Jersey. I'm in South Jersey about 15 minutes away from Atlantic City. I've been using my Nokia E71 for a few months now and haven't had one dropped call, and have had excellent call quality. I lived for 20 years in North Jersey, Union County, and the networks are much more congested up there due to the population density. I can't speak for Sprint's coverage in my area, but my experience with T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon is that they all have very good coverage here. I can't wait to get my Galaxy S 2!

**Pabster** · 02-14-2012, 10:05 AM

Voice quality is always a subjective thing, as every one has a very different set of ears. I hear a lot of people gripe about AT&T voice quality but I find it excellent. But, for example, it definitely is much lower quality on my cheap $10 candybar phone than my iPhone 4S.

I've always said location, location, location. Verizon generally gets rave reviews but I've had voice quality issues on the Verizon network in various locations whereas AT&T or T-Mobile were perfect. And vice-versa. There are a whole lot of factors in it.

**W2PMX** · 02-14-2012, 11:07 AM

Originally Posted by dubba

Unlocking a phone allows it to be used on a different network.

Just one nitpick - unlocking a phone allows it to be used with a different provider's SIM. Which network a particular SIM can use (and which towers on that network) is a contractual thing between providers. IOW, you get the same towers on ST with an AT&T or TMobile SIM because ST has contracted to use that "pseudo-network" (a combination of both carriers' towers).

As you said, though, nothing in common with rooting.

**aka414** · 02-14-2012, 11:24 AM

Originally Posted by Pabster

Voice quality is always a subjective thing, as every one has a very different set of ears. I hear a lot of people gripe about AT&T voice quality but I find it excellent. But, for example, it definitely is much lower quality on my cheap $10 candybar phone than my iPhone 4S.

I've always said location, location, location. Verizon generally gets rave reviews but I've had voice quality issues on the Verizon network in various locations whereas AT&T or T-Mobile were perfect. And vice-versa. There are a whole lot of factors in it.

This is true but it has been discussed by those in the know that AT&T actually uses lower voice quality protocols (more compression) to squeeze through more calls. If someone is in a large metro area, they are definitely doing it. Companies like AT&T rely on the fact the most people have no clue about this stuff.

For anyone who does care about voice quality, the best way to test this is using similar handsets and calling a voip landline. Without a doubt, Tmobile and Sprint are the clearest. Verizon is just as clear, but not if you are in a congested area, as they too will be compressing their calls.

A friend of mine had a iphone 4 on AT&T and switched to Sprint on the 4S, I new straight away that he had switched as he sounded significantly clearer. I try to use Viber as much as I can, as the calls just sound amazing and are actually in HD.