PC Magazine July 2017
PC Magazine July 2017 issue, we feature PCMag's eighth annual Fastest Mobile Networks report. Testers drove within and between 30 cities, running speed tests and collecting more than 124,000 network-speed data points. Find out which carrier leads the pack—and where. The results may surprise you! PC Magazine is America's #1 technology magazine, delivering authoritative, lab-based comparative reviews of technology products and services to more than 6.6 million professionals every issue. PC Magazine is the only publication with in-depth reviews and accurate, repeatable testing from PC Magazine Labs placed in the unique context of today's business technology landscape.
PC Magazine July 2017 issue, we feature PCMag's eighth annual Fastest Mobile Networks report. Testers drove within and between 30 cities, running speed tests and collecting more than 124,000 network-speed data points. Find out which carrier leads the pack—and where. The results may surprise you!
PC Magazine is America's #1 technology magazine, delivering authoritative, lab-based comparative reviews of technology products and services to more than 6.6 million professionals every issue. PC Magazine is the only publication with in-depth reviews and accurate, repeatable testing from PC Magazine Labs placed in the unique context of today's business technology landscape.
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Sprint also struggled with severe variability within cities. The carrier relies on<br />
2.5GHz signal for its best speeds, and that spectrum doesn’t travel well. The<br />
Samsung Galaxy S8’s High Performance User Equipment feature is supposed to<br />
extend 2.5GHz coverage, but we didn’t see that happening enough in our<br />
nationwide tests to fill in Sprint’s gaps.<br />
A few moves later this year should help Sprint’s performance. The HTC U11 and<br />
Moto Z2 Force phones have 4x4 MIMO (multiple input, multiple output)<br />
antennas for Sprint’s 2.5GHz spectrum, which will improve both coverage and<br />
speeds. And Sprint’s innovative “Magic Box” micro-cells could really improve<br />
the evenness of its network if they’re deployed broadly in major cities.<br />
T-MOBILE<br />
It’s the nation’s number two wireless network, no question about it. The carrier<br />
has improved by leaps and bounds in the past few years—first on speed and now<br />
on coverage.<br />
T-Mobile’s download and upload speeds have been on a steady upward climb,<br />
aided by Gigabit LTE technologies we saw in the Galaxy S8. The carrier’s major<br />
improvement this year is in coverage. Just a few years ago, we had to disqualify<br />
T-Mobile in some rural areas because of an utter lack of 4G. Now, having built<br />
out its “extended range” 700MHz network, T-Mobile can actually duke it out on<br />
coverage with Verizon and AT&T in states including North Carolina, Georgia,<br />
and Utah.<br />
T-Mobile’s coverage is only going to get better, especially in the west. The<br />
company just bought a huge amount of 600MHz spectrum nationwide, which is<br />
very good for covering rural areas. Much of it is currently occupied by TV<br />
stations, which have to vacate it within the next three years, but T-Mobile has<br />
said it’ll start building out in available areas this year. Of course, you’ll need a<br />
new phone to get that even-better coverage—Galaxy S9, anyone?
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