After investing almost $6 million into wireless infrastructure upgrades and initiatives over the first three quarters of 2010, AT&T is now claiming the nation's fastest mobile broadband network as evidenced by a third-party national test.
The "scientifically valid national drive testing", conducted by Global Wireless Solutions Inc. (GWS), compiles wireless performance across 950,000 road miles, covering 400 U.S. markets that represent 88 percent of the country's population. Across this standard, GWS found AT&T to be the fastest mobile broadband network, 20 percent faster than T-Mobile and 60 percent faster than Verizon.
On average, a 45-minute (40 MB) album finished downloading a minute faster on AT&T's network than T-Mobile's, the next-fastest competitor, and two-and-a-half minutes faster than on Verizon's network.
“We’re very pleased with the nationwide results of GWS drive testing, which demonstrate that we’re delivering a superior mobile broadband experience on a nationwide basis,” said AT&T CTO John Donovan. “Our top priority for the weeks and months to come is to continue our focus on network enhancements and improvements to ensure continued access to fast mobile broadband speeds and reliable voice service.”
This latest claim from AT&T comes on the heels of amped up marketing of high-speed networks from two competitors. Verizon began airing commercials promising 4G LTE by December 2010, while T-Mobile took a more direct route by specifically mocking AT&T in its ads that boast "America's largest 4G network." AT&T has a history of taking issue with such claims, particularly by T-Mobile. And it is no stranger to ad wars with Verizon. The latest developments by all three carriers are certainly just the tip of the iceberg in what is sure to be a knock-down, drag-out brawl.
The GWS test also found that 98.59 percent of voice calls on AT&T's network were completed without interruption, meaning the second-best dropped call average (behind Verizon by only one-tenth of a percentage point) in the nation.
AT&T plans to invest a total of $18 to $19 billion in its wireless network in 2010 (signifying a substantial investment in Q4) to enhance speed and coverage through additional cell sites and deployment of HSPA 7.2 and HSPA+ technology.
