4G speeds and coverage in Hawaii

**RHDScrambler** · 08-19-2012, 04:22 AM

Anyone have any firsthand experience with the VM 4G speeds on Oahu? Is the wimax coverage map pretty accurate? I just moved out here and the 3G lag is just killing me, trying to decide if its worth it to jump up to the Evo or if its time to start shopping for another carrier.

**IsLand_BoY** · 08-19-2012, 08:08 AM

Sprint's WiMAX coverage in Honolulu is subpar compared to the other carriers as far as "4G" goes. My Photon was constantly showing "acquiring IP address" as it went in and out of WiMAX coverage. I generally left it on 3G so it wouldn't kill my battery. Speeds were pretty decent, 3-5MB/down, but coverage is iffy and it will kill your battery in no time if you leave it on all the time. Personally, I wouldn't spend the $ for a WiMAX phone here. Verizon's LTE network is the best if you've got the money to burn. I easily got 10-25MB/down with excellent coverage.

If you're on a budget and/or want prepaid, I'd recommend T-Mobile's Monthly4G prepaid and a Blaze or Galaxy S II. Fairly good 4G coverage and generally at least 2-3MB/down up to 15MB/down if you're in a good area with an HSPA+ 42 phone.

Where exactly on Oahu do you live and work? In-building coverage will vary greatly on all carriers. T-Mobile of course has the advantage of WiFi calling if your home and office has WiFi.

**RHDScrambler** · 08-20-2012, 02:59 AM

I'm up at Schofield, I don't necessarily need 4G just decent 3Gish speeds, so looks like its time to start shopping around. Thanks for the info

**IsLand_BoY** · 08-20-2012, 06:43 AM

Originally Posted by RHDScrambler

I'm up at Schofield, I don't necessarily need 4G just decent 3Gish speeds, so looks like its time to start shopping around. Thanks for the info

What kinds of of speeds are you getting there? The last time I was in the area (about a month ago) I didn't test Sprint there but I know I had 4G coverage on T-Mobile. I'd definitely look into T-Mobile if I were you.

Sent from my Huawei myTouch Q

**fonezfonz** · 08-21-2012, 03:24 AM

Almost all of the major carriers have good coverage on Oahu. Though out in the country away from Honolulu, it will vary. I'd say go with Tmobile , Simple Mobile or Att or an Att mvno if you want good high speed data on prepaid out Oahu. Att Gophone and postpaid have identical coverage while Tmobile does too I think.

**IsLand_BoY** · 08-22-2012, 08:52 AM

I'm not a fan of AT&T in Hawaii. Too many outages with the most recent being a few weeks ago. Not sure how their data speeds are but T-Mobile's HSPA+ network is pretty fast in most areas. Verizon's LTE is king but I'm not willing to pay that much.