AT&T vs. Verizon: Which is faster? Is T-Mobile's 4G really as fast as LTE? And can Sprint and MetroPCS keep up? We'll aim to get all the answers this month in our annual cellular Internet death race, Fastest Mobile Networks.
There are now about 165 million smartphones being used in the U.S., according to the CTIA and Nielsen, and more than 30 percent of U.S. households have ditched their land lines. We're becoming a wireless nation and mobile data usage is skyrocketing, as any wireless carrier will tell you. So checking the quality of our wireless Internet becomes more important every year.
This time around, we're sending drivers (mostly PCMag staffers) in three 2013 Ford Taurus cars to 30 U.S. cities. They'll check out the latest Ford MyTouch in-car technology as they measure speed and reliability on five major wireless carriers using software custom-written by Sensorly, an innovative wireless-testing firm.
For the first time, you can join in, too. Starting in mid-May, we'll have a downloadable Android application which will let you contribute your own data to the nationwide network test, filling in the gaps we can't reach.
Even if you don't have an Android phone, you can help our drivers. They've just headed out on their nationwide journeys, and they'll be Tweeting from @pcmphones all along the way. Tell us: What's the best place to eat in Charlotte? Chicagoans, what are the notorious wireless dead spots? You can even ask our drivers to test networks outside your house, and they just might do it, if it's on the way.
Where We're Driving
Our 30 cities divide the country into six regions.Northeast: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C.
Southeast: Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Miami
North Central: Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Kansas City
South Central: Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio
Northwest: Denver, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle
Southwest: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Los Angeles, and San Diego
We'll also take some measurements on the road between the cities, to try to get a gauge of rural network performance.
Our Phones and Software
We'll use eight Android smartphones to test speeds and reliability on networks run by the top five carriers in the U.S.: AT&T 3G, AT&T LTE, MetroPCS 4G, T-Mobile, Sprint 3G, Sprint 4G, Verizon 3G and Verizon 4G. All the phones run Android 2.3 and have their respective networks' fastest available modems, as well as relatively similar other specs.As far as the phones, we'll be using the Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T) and the Samsung Galaxy Note for AT&T, the LG Connect 4G on MetroPCS, the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze on T-Mobile, the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch for Sprint, and the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx on Verizon. To keep these phones charged and running, we have power inverters and backup chargers from Cobra. For a closer look at our test kits and cars, see the slideshow above.
Sensorly's software, designed to our specifications, measures simulated Web connections, streaming, voice-over-IP calls and video calls. Sensorly's main business is creating crowd-sourced coverage maps, and you can download its free Android app to see the full maps for most U.S. carriers.
Be sure to follow us on Twitter and check out our weekly reports from the road throughout the month of May here at PCMag.com. Then there's going to be a short quiet period as we create gigantic Excel spreadsheets and our editors and designers work their magic for the final story. The report, along with our awards, will be published in mid-June.
Feel free to ask questions in the comments below. Let's get rolling!
For more, check out last year's results.