Did you choose Verizon or At&t and why?

Cleveland

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I am picking up my new iPad in a few days and I'll be going with the AT&T model - they rollout their LTE here in Cleveland, Akron and Canton on Sunday I believe plus still being able to be HSPA+ is a huge factor
 

DaytonAnnie

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Hi everyone! We went with AT&T because of the cost! We were able to bundle with other services. I was dubious, and had it been up to me, I would have choosen Verizon, simply based on feed back from others. That said, I've been very happy with my service, and plan to stay with AT&T.
 

Garz

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My true test comes starting today. One big reason I went with Vzn is I spend a lot of time in So Cal and moving back soon. AT&T's LTE map there is tiny. Basically LA only and not much of the suburbs. Vzn is huge. Can't wait to test this sucker out there on Vzn LTE.
 

CrzyP

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I would have went with Verizon for the LTE coverage. I got the wifi only version and plan to switch to Verizon from at$t when the LTE iPhone comes out.
 
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sbalchand

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i went with verizon due to the fact they offer 1GB/$20 plan and also the free hotspot.

am happy so far with the data speed. i guess after a certain point doesn't matter who is faster, what matters is the consistency of coverage. verizon's pretty good for my need in the Chicagoland.
 

geobernd

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AT&T here for two reasons:
I have a Smartphone on Verizon - going with AT&T gives me a bigger chance that one of the two will work when traveling in remote areas (which I do frequently for camping trips etc...).
3GB a month is enough for me in most cases... 2GB is borderline - so AT&Ts Pricing works better here...
 

Garz

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Did my test in So Cal. Covered many parts. Orange, LA, San Bernardino counties. Vzn had great LTE. Got slow in a couple spots. But that happens with any carrier. This confirms why I went with Vzn. Hopefully Att's LTE map will broaden or they may lose our business when a LTE iPhone comes out. Been with AT&T for 12 years. Would hate to leave as their LTE is very limited out there.
 

cardfan

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Did my test in So Cal. Covered many parts. Orange, LA, San Bernardino counties. Vzn had great LTE. Got slow in a couple spots. But that happens with any carrier. This confirms why I went with Vzn. Hopefully Att's LTE map will broaden or they may lose our business when a LTE iPhone comes out. Been with AT&T for 12 years. Would hate to leave as their LTE is very limited out there.

Verizon has stated they're going for 100% LTE coverage by end of 2013. AT&T is going for 80% or so of it's current 3G coverage which is already poor compared to verizon's. Add the LTE rural program Verizon has and it won't be close.

I know people mention the HSPA+ speeds on AT&T while posting screenshots of 7mpbs or more. The frustrating thing is, i've never seen this kind of speed on AT&T, not even in areas where it's "4G". Just for the fun of it, i'm on Verizon 3G yesterday with the ipad. It's around 1mbps vs iphone 4S (att "4G") getting around 2.5mbps. Browsing still seemed a bit faster on verizon vs tethering off iphone.

I do realize i'm not likely to see the faster hspa+ speeds til i get an ipad or phone supporting higher speeds. The iphone 4S only supports HSDPA 14.4 while the new ipad "brings a new 42Mbps HSPA+ radio for AT&T, Canadian, and international carriers that support it. (Technically dual 21Mbps HSPA+ radios.)"-- http://www.imore.com/2012/03/19/ipad-lte-hspa-radio-tests/. Hopefully in a couple years, i won't care and LTE will be abundant.

One of these days i'll have to throw an AT&T SIM in my verizon ipad and see if the hspa+ speeds are any better. I haven't seen anyone really posting speedtests for this.
 

briankeith513

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I chose Verizon because, from my experience...I get both much better customer service, and much better phone/data service with Verizon. I used to work for both companies, and got to see them inside and out, and for a long time, I was a customer of both companies. Att's hsdpa was faster and is faster than evdo rev A...but not that much faster to make me really care. The only thing that I liked more about AT&T was the ability to talk and use the web at the same time. Now with LTE...Verizon has soo much more coverage, and when it comes to the iPhone, I'll also be able to talk and surf the net at the same time.


Sent from my iPad 4 using Tapatalk
 

Garz

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Verizon has stated they're going for 100% LTE coverage by end of 2013. AT&T is going for 80% or so of it's current 3G coverage which is already poor compared to verizon's. Add the LTE rural program Verizon has and it won't be close.

I know people mention the HSPA+ speeds on AT&T while posting screenshots of 7mpbs or more. The frustrating thing is, i've never seen this kind of speed on AT&T, not even in areas where it's "4G". Just for the fun of it, i'm on Verizon 3G yesterday with the ipad. It's around 1mbps vs iphone 4S (att "4G") getting around 2.5mbps. Browsing still seemed a bit faster on verizon vs tethering off iphone.

I do realize i'm not likely to see the faster hspa+ speeds til i get an ipad or phone supporting higher speeds. The iphone 4S only supports HSDPA 14.4 while the new ipad "brings a new 42Mbps HSPA+ radio for AT&T, Canadian, and international carriers that support it. (Technically dual 21Mbps HSPA+ radios.)"-- http://www.imore.com/2012/03/19/ipad-lte-hspa-radio-tests/. Hopefully in a couple years, i won't care and LTE will be abundant.

One of these days i'll have to throw an AT&T SIM in my verizon ipad and see if the hspa+ speeds are any better. I haven't seen anyone really posting speedtests for this.

I do get great speed on Att HSPA+. Usually 2.5 times what Vzn gets on their 4S. Haven't seen a speed shot to compare. I would rather stick to At&t for next iPhone since Vzn can't compare to my plan and price. Not with current new plans. I have already checked. We'll see what happens. Next iPhone is not coming in June as many of those rumors say it is. I have until fall to figure this out. ;)
 

EmceeGeek

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I always come back to read this forum, and I'm kind of wondering if I should get the AT&T model while I have the time. I mean 3gb for $30, that's great but I have Verizon cell service. I thought about doing the tethering thing but that was just not happening. I do travel a lot and to Canada so I'm hoping it'll work for me there. I haven't been there since I had Verizon. Btw my model is vzw. Thoughts?
 

cardfan

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I exchanged for the AT&T model last night (with no problem either..i was worried it was too late since i've had the Verizon ipad since launch). If the Verizon one worked as it should, I might not have. But it has problems connecting to 3G, especially in extended areas. I need something that works now.

AT&T just lit up everything around me in dark blue ("4G") so this made the decision easier. I'm seeing triple the speed on it already vs my iphone. Hate giving up hotspot and LTE where i work, but I need it to work around home area too.

I'll give Verizon another look later. Ideally, it'd be when i don't HAVE to worry about 3G and it's simply LTE all around.
 
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EmceeGeek

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People are getting the Verizon version because they can use it on AT&T as well, but just remember...it will not work on AT&T LTE. Just 3G. Not sure about the "4G". AT&T seems to hit the sweet spot of data allowance, 3GB (I say sweet spot because 3GB probably will satisfy the vast majority) for the same price as Verizon's 2GB. And I bet it's just a matter of time before AT&T opens up the hotspot feature. They won't let Verizon 1 up them for very long. I've also noticed multiple nationwide 4G outages, and many regional 4G outages as of late on Verizon. So for these reasons, and a few others, I took my Verizon one back and got the AT&T one. No complaints so far :)

You my friend, have a valid point. Can't believe it took me reading this 3 times on 3 different occasions to sink in.
 

Rocket_Girl

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I chose Verizon because my 4s is on at&t and signal strength is glitchy. VZW is also better for travel to many of the larger cities where at&t coverage is similarly spotty...or worse. Ultimately with one device on each carrier and both devices with me most of the time, I will have coverage pretty much anywhere.

Having said that, the LTE leaves something to be desired. At some point pretty much every day, I have to disable LTE to load anything - reverting to 3G. This does not happen automatically (as I thought it should...) - instead it will churn away on LTE without loading, so I disable and return to Safari, where page loads on 3G with no problem. I then have to remember to re-enable LTE after some time has passed, which means I wind up using on 3G as often as on LTE.

The wi-fi is spectacular. Grabs the signal when I get to work and holds it all day. Speed can vary on wi-fi, but that is the network here rather than the iPad or VZW.
 

cardfan

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I chose Verizon because my 4s is on at&t and signal strength is glitchy. VZW is also better for travel to many of the larger cities where at&t coverage is similarly spotty...or worse. Ultimately with one device on each carrier and both devices with me most of the time, I will have coverage pretty much anywhere.

Having said that, the LTE leaves something to be desired. At some point pretty much every day, I have to disable LTE to load anything - reverting to 3G. This does not happen automatically (as I thought it should...) - instead it will churn away on LTE without loading, so I disable and return to Safari, where page loads on 3G with no problem. I then have to remember to re-enable LTE after some time has passed, which means I wind up using on 3G as often as on LTE.

The wi-fi is spectacular. Grabs the signal when I get to work and holds it all day. Speed can vary on wi-fi, but that is the network here rather than the iPad or VZW.

Exactly what i was seeing. Verizon may be noted for 3G coverage and phone calls, but this is a new animal for them it seems. I prefer to wait til they get it sorted out. It's not switching properly to 3G or roaming as it should. Or requires reboots, turning off and on, etc. Even traveling down a street in the middle of LTE coverage, the LTE would go away and come back.

I've learned in the past, you buy what works now. Not what should work later.
 

BreakingKayfabe

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I honestly bought this more for the retina display and not LTE. My iPad 2 was wifi only and I figured if I'm buying another I should get cell data with it. LTE has better coverage for me on Verizon, but if I go to 3G I can depend more in HSPA+ being faster on AT&T which it is. I've experienced it already with my 4S and am very happy with the speeds I'm getting. Equally as happy about it with the iPad. Plus, I know I'd hit 2 gigs on Verizon way too soon. Having 3 gigs as opposed to 2 gigs is like night and day for me.
 

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