Comparison of Coverage: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Dish, & US Cellular

In the rapidly evolving world of mobile connectivity, choosing the right network provider can be daunting. With giants like Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Dish, and US Cellular vying for your attention, understanding their strengths and weaknesses is crucial. This article offers an in-depth comparison of these top providers' network coverage, drawing insights from CoverageMap.com and encouraging users to validate these findings with the SpeedSmart app.

Why Did Google Give Verizon an Exclusive For The Pixel Phone?

We think because Google will also sell its brand-new Pixel and Pixel XL via the company's Project Fi mobile network. The Pixels fully support Fi's network switching between T-Mobile, Sprint, and US Cellular.  Not exactly an exclusive is it?

Verizon and Google have a long, tense history of working together with respect to Google's hardware. Five years ago, the Galaxy Nexus had a strange and slow rollout on the network. Verizon was also stingy with software updates once the phone was out. It didn't stop there — the Nexus 4 wound up being incompatible with the network, the Nexus 5 was skipped entirely, and the Nexus 6 was another product that Verizon customers had to wait for. The two sides even butted heads over Google's Nexus tablets, too. That said, leaks of the Pixel and Pixel XL showed a glimmer of hope: no Verizon branding can be found on the phones.

Google on Tuesday named Verizon as the exclusive U.S. wireless carrier for its new Pixel smartphone. The new Pixel smartphone comes in 5.5-inch and 5-inch versions and features an aluminum unibody, AMOLED display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chip, a quad core processor, 4 GB of RAM, a fingerprint sensor, 32 GB and 128 GB memory options, an 8 mp front camera and a 12.3 mp rear camera. The device also comes with either a 2,770 mAh or 3,450 mAh battery that can achieve 7 hours of life on 15 minutes of charge time, Google said. It comes in three colors: black, blue and silver. Google’s new artificial intelligence Assistant and compatibility with the company’s Daydream View virtual reality headset will come built in to the device.

The Pixel will run on Google’s latest Android Nougat operating system, the company said. While the device will also be offered unlocked for $649 through the Google store, Verizon will be the sole U.S. wireless provider carrying the device, Google said.

Verizon said the 32 GB 5-inch Pixel device will run customers $27.08 per month on a 24-month equipment installment plan or $649.99 full retail, while the 128GB Pixel will cost $31.24 per month for 24 months or $749.99 retail. The 5.5-inch Pixel XL will cost $32.08 per month for the 32GB model on a two-year installment plan or $769.99 retail, and the 128GB Pixel XL will cost $36.24 per month on an installment plan or $869.99 retail.

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Cell Boosters: A Solution for Poor Cell Signals

Wherever there are dead cell zones, dropped calls, static during calls and generally, bad reception is bound to follow. Cell phone users that live in an area where there is not even one bar of reception anywhere in their vicinity will have a hard time rectifying their situation without a provider’s solution. However, for those that can pick up even one bar of reception, a cell booster is a very affordable solution to improve cellular signal reception.

In the simplest terms, cell boosters take weak cellular signals and amplify them within a home, office, or building. A typical cell booster kit includes an external antenna (for picking up weak signals), an amplifier (for boosting weak signal), and an internal antenna (for rebroadcasting the amplified signals). But how does one go about selecting the best cell booster?

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when shopping for a booster: application and frequency. There is a difference between a small home cellular repeater and one designed for a warehouse. Large, multi-story buildings or spaces larger than 30,000 square feet often require custom cell booster installation and the expertise of a specialist.

However, for smaller cell booster applications, the most important thing to take note of is frequency. Amplifiers operate on different frequencies including 800 MHz (Verizon, US Cellular, and Alltel), 1900 MHz (T-mobile, Sprint and Metro PCS), and iDEN (Nextel). For those that aren’t sure what frequency their carrier utilizes, a Dual Band booster is probably the best choice. These amplifiers operate on both the 800 MHz and 1900 MHz bands, covering most carriers (with the exception of Nextel).

Basic cell boosters typically fall into the $200 -$250 price range and can be installed with minimal technical assistance.

Consumer Reports Cell Service Ratings by City

Does this Consumer Reports survey of 66,000 people have any credibility for a cell phone service shopper? This survey represents a narrow demographic of respondents. Even Consumer Reports states their “Findings might not reflect the general U.S. population.” Also, it is indeed a survey and does not contain any empirical testing of the type that has made Consumer Reports the respected entity it is today.

But the main reason these results are not meaningful, or fair for that matter, is the lack of information regarding smartphone users vs. old school phone users, broken down by the wireless provider being rated. Why is this important? Smartphones demand a much higher quality of service and bandwidth to operate. Even Consumer Reports implies that users who use their wireless devices primarily for talking and texting (non smartphone customers) are easier to please than those who have smartphones, who require more demanding tasks such as web surfing and watching videos.

Consumer Reports does not provide any data as to which providers in the survey were rated by smartphone subscribers vs. non smartphone subscribers. Thus, their results are comparing apples-to-oranges. For example, is it meaningful or fair to compare Provider A who, for example, was rated by customers who primarily use smartphones vs. Provider B, who was rated by customers who primarily use non smartphones? I think not.

Based on my years of running this web site, I can conclude that some wireless providers have a larger percentage of smartphone subscribers than others. These smartphone subscribers are, by nature, sophisticated, demanding and particular. Other providers have a larger percentage of non smartphone subscribers who are typically lower paying, less sophisticated customers who are happy with status quo and using older phones. These customers, of course, would be happier with their service.

My take? Consumer Reports should divulge the percentage of smartphone and non smartphones subs rating each wireless provider. This key information would allow readers to make fair and meaningful comparisons.

Deadcellzones.com surveys an audience of similar size of 60,000 but does so on a monthly basis. Thus we survey an audience that is 10 times larger than consumer reports. DCZ also provide searchable maps with very specific geographic information about coverage problems. Ask yourself which is more useful as a consumer shopping for service in your area?

Wireless Competition Before the iPhone

Wireless Before the AT&T iPhone in 2006

The US wireless market was far more competitive before AT&T got the iPhone exclusive and this is how the market looked with AT&T / Cingular having 27% of the market with only 60 million customers.  Verizon Wireless had 26% of the market with 59M, Sprint / Nextel 23% 52M, T-Mobile 11% 25M, Alltel 5% 11M and US Cellular 2.5% with 6M.   How is wireless competition today and how have mergers consolidated the wireless industry?

The iPhone was the start of the smartphone revolution and AT&T took a year and half to negotiate with Apple to get an exclusive on it.   Its important to look back at the history of innovation before the iPhone came on to he market.  Verizon turned down the iPhone and the rest of the telecom industry greeted Apple with skepticism over whether they could make a phone that consumers would want since they were largely a PC company.  AT&T had to respond to competitive pressure 5 years ago and was forced to negotiate with Apple not knowing how successful the iPhone was going to be.

Here is a great example of how the telecom industry would have held us back from innovation if Steve Jobs had not required YouTube and other features be added to the iPhone.  Apple had to fight with AT&T in order to get the YouTube feature added on the deck and it took a year and half to get it.  Keep in mind we also had fewer dropped calls and better network service in 2006 as well.  So when a carrier like AT&T raises the argument that they will bring innovation in a duopoly competitive market they are lying.  The only thing carriers can do is protect their turf and try and keep up with the competition of WiFi that will soon surpass the capabilities of controlled and non-scalable 4G and LTE.  They will forever be dump pipes that transmit data and we should make sure that they have zero power to raise margins and prices for the sake of technology innovation and growth.

Apple iPhone had the vision which paved the way for Google to roll out Android with T-Mobile.   I think T-Mobile was the most brilliant of the carriers taking the risk and having the vision to launch Android.  The telecom industry was skeptical of course as well but look where we are now.  Its great to see the corrupt carriers losing control over data access while at the same time seeing the growth of unlicensed wireless data access WiFi and soon to be White Spaces.  The future is not longer about charge for data but about free wireless through location based advertising to get the rest of the World using smartphones who cannot afford it.  

FCC: Leap, Cellular South, Cellular One, Cellular South, Cincinnati Bell

Rural regional carriers are worried about being able to compete and need the FCC to intervene in order to protect competition.  Fast forward to the minute 3 in this video and listen to Mignon Clyburn who is FCC Democratic commissioner.  The commissioner is concerned that there are areas that cover 10 million people that cover 2 or fewer carriers in some areas.  Concerned carriers include: US Cellular (NYSE: USM), Leap Wireless (NYSE: LEAP), Cellular One, Cellular South and Cincinnati Bell Wireless (NYSE: CBB), who combined have about 60% of T-Mobile USA’s customer base.  Carriers also want better inter carrier compensation and universal service reform to help bring down costs for consumers.  FCC also sees VoIP as a viable technology that should be more competitive with current voice technology.

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Rural Wireless Carriers Have Better Coverage

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GSM CDMA Carrier Handset Competition Fair?

AT&T will soon consolidate T-Mobile and become the only GSM carrier in the US.  Tracfone is a pre-paid carrier that offers both GSM and CDMA so it doesn't really count.  Is this fair competition?  T-Mobile has been the only GSM alternative to AT&T and post-acquisition there will be none.  What happens to consumers who purchased GSM phones and want to move to another carrier?  What happens to the handset manufacturers around the World who want to sell their products in the US?  Why should consumers care about GSM?  If you travel internationally you will know what I am talking about.  GSM is the World standard for phones and allows you to travel in most countries around the World without buying a new phone.

Consumers will be facing very limited choices for wireless service in most regions. The result will be only two competing technologies (CDMA & GSM) that all wireless carriers use, all the small regional carriers have to negotiate roaming deals with either Verizon or AT&T if they want to offer full coverage to their customers. The deal would further entrench the playing field with one CDMA giant and one GSM giant and fair negotiations would be even harder.

Verizon is a CDMA carrier and Sprint operates iDen and CDMA phones that donot work in most countries when you travel around the world.   Smaller regional carriers MetroPCS, Leap, US Cellular and Tracfone all use  CDMA as well.  

US Wireless Subscribers Pie Chart Post AT&T & T-Mobile Merger

This is what the US wireless subscriber market will look like post an AT&T and T-Mobile merger.  Does this look like a pie chart that is promoting fair competition?  Is it fair that these two companies are the highest paying dividend stocks (5% annual) on Wall Street?   shareholder payout is approximately $10 billion dollars per year and the Verizon dividend is approximately $5 billion dollars per year.  Are our FCC and DOJ protecting us from the competition when the US is far behind the rest of the World with data speeds and connectivity?

If AT&T controls 130M customers and Verizon 102 million this will wipe out any ability for competition.  Sprint is already in trouble with its financial problems and will never be a formidable competitor. T-Mobile was actually starting to do some disruptive things to the largest two carriers Verizon and AT&T before the acquisition took place.  The technology disruption in using WiFi, 4G, and HSPA+ alone was enough to get AT&T to swoop in a buy the company to shut them up.   This chart alone should concern the Department of Justice when considering if there is fair competition in an already corrupt industry.  I will go on record to say that this merger will be the worst in US history for customers and competition if it goes through.  

Customer Churn: Coverage vs.Contracts

Contracts Reduce Customer Churn . . . Not Service

It has become fairly obvious that if AT&T's lost its' current iPhone or iPad exclusivity contract that they would suffer tremendous customer carnage.  Every person I speak with tells me that if AT&T didn't have them locked into a Blackberry or iPhone contract they would switch to another smaller carrier.  Unlike, Europe where you can purchase a phone 1st and pick a wireless carrier 2nd.  US customers are only offered subsidized phones that lock them into exclusive carrier contracts.  It's bogus in my opinion and should get more government regulation by the FCC who continues to be a pussy on this topic. 

Rural Wireless Carriers Have Better Coverage

Rural Carrier Trade-offs:  Great Coverage or Great Devices?

Rural wireless operators continue to face a number of challenges in their daily quest to remain viable options for consumers increasingly bombarded with advertising and promotions from nationwide operators AT&T, Verizon, Sprint & T-Mobile.  These operators that spend billions of dollars on marketing each year and in the case of the nation’s two largest operators are increasingly dominating the market.

There are approximately 160+ rural carriers who are constantly trying differentiate their local coverage and better customer service against the larger carriers. However, these carriers are at a huge disadvantage not having access to the hotest devices like Apple's iPhone and iPad, which often results with customs not staying with the local carrier and get inferior coverage. Most customers choose a wireless service that provides good local service, but if a rural carrier doesn't have the latest hardware device offerings it’s hard to compete. Many people are willing to stay with local smaller companies even if they are not using brand name handsets.

Rural carriers have been battling handset exclusivity issues for many years and try to offer compelling alternative devices to remain competitive.  Some smaller carriers have had luck negotiating access with large hardware manufacturers, but there is more needed to be done.

90% of all new postpaid customer growth in 2009, or roughly 9 million customers, were signed up by either Verizon Wireless or AT&T Mobility. And that even the smallest of the nationwide operators, T-Mobile USA Inc., was more than five times larger than the largest rural provider – U.S. Cellular Corp.

Related Article:
Rural Wireless Customers Have Fewer Choices

Rural Cellular Association Conference

Rural Cellular Coverage Map

Did you know there are almost 160+ rural cellular companies that compete with AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and others?  RCA is an association representing rural wireless telecommunications providers across the United States. rca-usa.org  Many of these same rural wireless carriers could be your best friend in the near future as wireless services become increasingly more competitive and local.  We think there is an enormous opportunity for these rural carriers to flex media marketing muscle and compete against the larger multi-billion dollar marketing behemoths.  We will be there to meet regional wireless operators, service providers and expose them to our database of rural cell phone dead zones and dropped call areas.

18th Annual RCA Convention - APRIL 27-30, 2010 - Rio Hotel & Casino • Las Vegas • Nevada

Hot Topics at the Conference 
04/21/10 RCA Applauds FCC's Vote to Eliminate In-Market Roaming Exclusion
04/08/10 FCC Announces Broadband Action Agenda
04/02/10 FCC to Hold Workshop on Critical Infrastructure and Information Collection
03/31/10 RCA Comments on 700 MHz Mobile Equipment Capability

Exhibiting Companies Include: 
AeroVoice
Airway Technologies
Alcatel-Lucent
ArdaCOM
ARIS Software, Inc.
Associated Network Partners, Inc. (ANPI)
Astellia, Inc.
Brightpoint
Cellatel, LLC
CellCast Technologies, LLC
Cellebrite USA
ClearSky Mobile Media
Commnet Supply - Telmar Network Technology
CommSoft
Connectiv Solutions
DigiCell International, Inc.
Eastpointe Industries, Inc.
eSecuritel
Exalt Communications, Inc.
Fibrebond Corporation
Flash Technology
GetWireless, LLC
G Unwired, Inc.
HickoryTech - Information Solutions
Hyde Company
Info Directions
Interop Techonologies
Intrado
Jinny Software, Ltd.
JTWO Wireless, LLC
Kyocera Communications, Inc.
Lemko Corporation
LG Electronics Mobilecomm USA, Inc.
MACH Americas
Mid America Computer Corporation
Movius
National Information Solutions (NISC)
Nexlink Communications, LLC
OSG Billing Services
Pario Solutions
Personal Communciations Devices, LLC
Planet Cellular, Inc.
Platinum Wireless
Primal Technologies
PSA
RADWIN
Rosenberger LEONI Site Solutions
Sabre Industries, Inc.
SaskTel International
Sonoran Systems, Inc.
Syniverse Technologies
Talley, Inc.
Taqua
TeleCommunication Systems, Inc.
Telsasoft
Tempest Telecom Solutions, LLC
Trango Systems
Transaction Network Services
US Mobile Phones
USA Digital Communications
V-Comm, LLC
Velleros, Inc.
Walker & Associates
WAU, Inc.
Wes-Tec, Inc.
Wireless One
Xentris Wireless
YAM Wireless
Yap, Inc.