need recommendation ...

[mogelijk]

In my city 3G I get 1.5 mbps and on bad areas I get 0.6 mbps. So on average I get at least 1mbps, It must be the whole network vision thing.

Network Vision isn't supposed to be turned on until July 15, and then only in five cities, so I doubt that is the reason for the speeds you are getting. My guess is that you either live in an area where Sprint has more bandwidth or fewer subscribers. It will be interesting to see what affect Network Vision has on 3G speeds.

The 3G speed tests I've successfully completed are range from 100-300 kbps down and about the same range up. I did a test just now, here at home at 10:30 pm, and got the same speed (first test was 99 kpbs down, second was 294 down). The area I was talking about that was so slow, I couldn't even complete a speed test -- but what I did see, before they quit, was speeds below 100 kbps.

My 4G speeds tend to be about 2.5 mbps down and about 1.5 up; though I did once get 7.5 mbps down at 1:30 am.

 

[aurora40]

You guys are glancing over some important details on those T-Mobile plans.

Yeah, you can get 5gigs before a throttle... But you only get 100 minutes.

No carrier has plans or service that are definitively better than another. It all depends on what your needs are and where you live. The OP sounds like a minutes-user (on the $45 plan), so T-Mobile will probably cost more for him. Possibly it's worth it because he wants fast data, possibly it wouldn't be worth it to someone else somewhere else.

The $30 Wal-Mart plan is perfect for me. My last month on VM I used ~70 minutes. I used ~50 on my first month of TMo, but about 3x the data (because it was useable). This wouldn't be perfect for someone else, that's why all these choices exist. T-Mobile does have other plans, though. And they have a wide range of 4g devices to choose from while VM only has one.

Sprint isn't going to be building out their 4G network anymore but they are currently working on their "Network Vision" plan and they say that 3G speeds will be faster over the course of the next few months.

They have their work cut out for them. In this PC World study this year, Sprint was the only company to have worse average 3g speeds year over year:

from: 3G and 4G Wireless Speed Showdown: Which Networks Are Fastest? | PCWorld

In my opinion (certainly the experience in my area), Sprint has a long way to go to providing a decent data experience.

 

[agianne]

Network Vision isn't supposed to be turned on until July 15, and then only in five cities, so I doubt that is the reason for the speeds you are getting.

You are referring to turning up 4G LTE on July 15 in 5 cities. [4G LTE 07/15 Press Release] Adding 4G LTE is a part of Network Vision, but it is only one component of the program. [Network Vision description]

Network Vision is a comprehensive base station and antenna equipment upgrade and replacement program that affects existing protocols (1xRTT and 3G) and adds 4G LTE. Network Vision is an ongoing program and the upgrades benefit users immediately upon completion. Only LTE has been held back for testing and validation. It is entirely possible for nfs13epic to be experiencing improved 3G performance due to Network Vision upgrades in his area.

Last time I checked Sprint had only completed about 600 base station upgrades, leaving 11,400 to do this year. The project isn't scheduled to complete until the end of 2013, so most of the benefit is still to come.

 

[EarlyMon]

Network Vision will update over 38,000 towers and the data centers, and the entire backhaul.

Many live near 3G towers now capable of getting 1 Mbps or better but bottleneck at the backhaul connecting it.

Network Vision as specified should complete by the end of 2013. Next up is 800 MHz LTE, and ultimately, LTE Advanced, a so-called "True 4G" technology.

 

[runningman3433]

Seems odd to get rid of VM because of slow speeds, only to move to a plan that throttles your data after 100MB. Is there something I'm missing here?

hey guys, i just go the google nexus phone. Wow, it's an incredible phone! upgrading to ics 4.1 as we speak. i'm very happy with the quality of the nexus. screen is beautiful. it's easier to hold than the evo, even though it's a little bigger. haven't yet switched to tmobile but i'm gong to try there 100 minute plan with 5gb of data for $30 and see how it goes.

ok... i just got jellybean installed. WOW! the voice recognition is super slick. no regrets at all on this phone.

 

[mogelijk]

hey guys, i just go the google nexus phone. Wow, it's an incredible phone! upgrading to ics 4.1 as we speak. i'm very happy with the quality of the nexus. screen is beautiful. it's easier to hold than the evo, even though it's a little bigger. haven't yet switched to tmobile but i'm gong to try there 100 minute plan with 5gb of data for $30 and see how it goes.

ok... i just got jellybean installed. WOW! the voice recognition is super slick. no regrets at all on this phone.

I just got my Nexus ordered. Unfortunately, that likely means (with tomorrow being the 4th) that it will be a week before I get it.

I just got too frustrated with the VM/Sprint network. I had to take a friend to the doctor today; while in their office my speed was so slow. I was curious and did a speed test, ended up with 50 kbps down and 175 up -- and this was with a strong signal. I guess you could say that was the breaking point for me...

 

[schlar01]

I looked at the Nexus but from what I can tell only the T-Mob phones can do wifi calling using your own phone number. You can get stuff like some of the other wifi calling software out there but it won't be from your own ph #. That sucks.

 

[mastersoup]

Both kind of suck in my area, unfortunately. I'm considering one or the other.....US Cellular is the strongest here and they say they are launching 4G later this year here so I don't know what I'll do.

Anyway, T-Mobile also has a value plan that is $50-60 where you can bring your own phone and its NOT prepaid. I'd suggest that because you don't lose out on roaming.

dont you wish people in wisconsin could choose a plan based on the actual plan rather than the coverage? wisconsin coverage as a whole seems pretty poor compared to a lot of other states.