What’s More Important: Data Speed or Call Quality/Reliability?

[MotionMan]

http://lifehacker.com/#!5780706

READER POLL

What’s More Important: Data Speed or Call Quality/Reliability?

Adam Dachis — The release of the Verizon iPhone brought up something interesting: data speeds are faster on AT&T and call quality and reliability are higher on Verizon. Forgetting the carriers for a moment and thinking about this strictly as data versus voice calls, what's more important to you? Do you use data more, make VOIP calls, and therefore prefer a better data connection? Or is the primary use of your smartphone the phone?
For me it's the call reliability (despite being an AT&T customer). While I love the idea of using a data connection for everything, 3G isn't fast enough and 4G (if you can call it that) isn't widely available. I might change my mind, but for now I'm using my phone primarily as a phone. What about you?

Poll on the site.

For me, it is data speed. I hate talking to people.

MotionMan

 

[zerocool84]

AT&T people will always say data speed.

Call/signal reliability is always more important for me. I talk on my phone a lot, business calls, personal, etc and most people use their cellphone as their primary communication device so I don't understand who wouldn't want a quality connection.

 

[Anubis]

call quality

 

[MotionMan]

AT&T people will always say data speed.

Call/signal reliability is always more important for me. I talk on my phone a lot, business calls, personal, etc and most people use their cellphone as their primary communication device so I don't understand who wouldn't want a quality connection.

I use mine as my "primary communication device". However my primary form of communication is e-mail and, to some extent, text, but not talking on the phone.

MotionMan

 

[Demo24]

I may not talk a lot on my phone, but when I do I want it to work. ATT drove me nuts in a low population, non 3g area I would drop a lot of my calls. So we took our money elsewhere. Since I don't have a landline, cell has to be reliable. Worst is to get in tech support/customer service and lose the call.

 

[dguy6789]

Both are important. That said, AT&T is years away from comparing their network to Verizon's. When AT&T says speed, there needs to be an asterisk due to actual coverage.

Here is AT&T's current data coverage map:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_...TT%20coverage, blue means 3G coverage.JPG

The blue areas are the only areas where you can get faster than Edge(~100kbps or lower) on AT&T. Sure the blue areas are faster 3G than on Verizon, but you won't actually get 3G a whole lot of the time for a lot of people.

Here is Verizon's data map:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_...M/Verizon Coverage, red means 3G coverage.JPG

Anywhere in the red is 3G. You get ~1-2mbps but usually closer to 1. Slower 3G, but at least you more or less always have 3G.

Verizon will also have their entire 3G footprint covered by 4G LTE in 2013. AT&T plans to have their current 3G footprint covered by LTE in a similar amount of time. Whose 4G network would you rather be on?

 

[zerocool84]

Both are important. That said, AT&T is years away from comparing their network to Verizon's. When AT&T says speed, there needs to be an asterisk due to actual coverage.

Here is AT&T's current data coverage map:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_...-udQ/ATT coverage, blue means 3G coverage.JPG

The blue areas are the only areas where you can get faster than Edge(~100kbps or lower) on AT&T. Sure the blue areas are faster 3G than on Verizon, but you won't actually get 3G a whole lot of the time for a lot of people.

Here is Verizon's data map:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_...M/Verizon Coverage, red means 3G coverage.JPG

Anywhere in the red is 3G. You get ~1-2mbps but usually closer to 1. Slower 3G, but at least you more or less always have 3G.

There's a reason AT&T change the line in their ads from "America's fastest mobile network" to "America's fastest mobile broadband network" since they have such crappy coverage and have to supplement it with Wifi hotspots all over the place.

 

[Spoooon]

Call quality and reliability is more important than speed, but would like to have both.

In an emergency, I'm not likely to be emailing someone for help or to come pick me up somewhere.

 

[MotionMan]

Call quality and reliability is more important than speed, but would like to have both.

In an emergency, I'm not likely to be emailing someone for help or to come pick me up somewhere.

Well, it is not like I said I do not want any phone service.

I may be biased since I have not experienced the problems people seem to complain about (either that or I just do not let it bother me that much - see this).

MotionMan

 

[bigboxes]

Call quality and reliability first and foremost. Data is always a bonus, not the priority. I can always tell when someone is on AT&T. But they have fast data speeds when available.

 

[Spoooon]

Well, it is not like I said I do not want any phone service.

I may be biased since I have not experienced the problems people seem to complain about (either that or I just do not let it bother me that much - see this).

MotionMan

Great link.

You're sitting in a chair in the sky.

 

[corkyg]

I only use wireless, data and phone, when travelling. Most important to me is signal strength. That alone impacts hugely on data speed and signal reliability. I have tried AT&T, but tossed it after 6 months of single bar signal and lousy data speed and reliability. I currently use Sprint.

Data link is more important tome than voice. Like MotionMan, I hate talking on the phone. In fact, . . . I never turn my cell phone on unless I want to make a call for some urgent reason. Only family members get my cell number.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

nm

 

[v8envy]

I used 32 minutes of voice last month. And probably 1000+ texts plus a few hundred meg of navigation & youtube data. So the answer in my case is very clear.

My wife used maybe 1500 texts and an easy 60 hours of talk time. She has no data plan for her Moto Defy and gets by using wifi exclusively. So for her the answer is also very clear.

 

[mammador]

it's obviously relative, but to me data speed. I like good speed internet on my phone, as well as good Android apps. I find the call quality on my phone is good, especially since it has a speaker. It's only 3G, but it's no real issue to me.

 

[Obsoleet]

The core: call reliability and quality. Data is great, but I pay for a phone, not for an internet device. As long as it pulls up google maps, I'm good. Battery life is short enough as is without 4G or doing anything that kills the battery life.

I've been a VZW guy for 10 years now, will never leave.. and my bill is very high. A phone is an essential service that I'm willing to pay for high quality.

 

[Fox5]

Price. I'm on T-mobile, and as long as I can make calls at home and once in a while check email or phone while on the go, I'm good enough and would rather save the money.

 

[judasmachine]

In the end I have enough data sources, and I am patient. I really need it to operate as a phone first. My Droid X functions well in both arenas though. I love it, even if it has a locked bootloader.

 

[Malak]

I don't talk on the phone much and I use the data all the time... but poor call quality is the more frustrating issue.

 

[DirthNader]

AT&T people will always say data speed.

I'm on AT&T, and I'd say call quality/reliability.

I switched over from Verizon to AT&T simply because 90% of my social group is on AT&T. It's cheaper for me to be on the same network as them. I had a company-issued Blackberry on AT&T a couple of years ago, so I knew that their coverage is as good as Verizon's in my part of the country. If I hadn't known that first-hand, I probably would have been a little more reluctant to switch, given all of the horror stories about AT&T.