Want 3G? Verizon says there's a map for that

3Gstore · EVDO Addict Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 3171

During the MNF game that saw Brett Farve and the Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers, Verizon Wireless rolled out a commercial that attacks ATT's claim of the largest 3G network.

Check out: "There's A Map For That"

Verizon also released a press release that included a link to PDF file that shows 3G coverage comparison... check out: http://j.mp/28Mu3n

n6gn · Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 10:07 am Post subject:

Interesting advertising. What isn't highlighted is that for the Verizon & Sprint the "coverage" means EVDO and only 1 user per carrier for maximum rate. Multiple users, sharing a coverage area get reduced performance, as all of us in heavily used areas know. Thus 'coverage' and 'capacity' can be spun by marketing to overstate the aggregate user experience.

Put another way, as 3G uptake increases the performance that is described in a "covered" area takes a hit, eventually getting very poor.

The other carriers have a similar issue but it doesn't manifest the same way. For time division systems, the users' experience in a 'covered' region doesn't change until the system max's out. Then it goes bad instantly and "system unavailable" happens.

"You pays your money and makes your choice" but nobody simultaneously has lots of high quality 3G coverage for a large number of users - no matter what the marketeers may say!

n6gn

EVDO_user · EVDO User Joined: 20 May 2009 Posts: 29

n6gn · Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 3:49 pm Post subject:

Verizon may get to claim larger 'coverage' footprint, but that coverage is still limited by the nature of the coverage in any area. For EVDO, everywhere it's one-carrier-per-user with multiple users time sharing the carrier. Thus any given sector antenna is only serving a single user at any instant. Once more users enter that same sector and try to use that same carrier, the resource is time shared.
This means that there is a bit of deception in calling the particular geographic area 'covered'. It's covered for a single user but the experience degrades when multiple users are involved.

To be more even (less spin) the map should be modified to show a combination of coverage/capacity in each area. Were that done, the differences among carriers would not seem so great.

To truly provide many users a high speed experience, there is no alternative to increasing the cell site density and reducing the cell size and corresponding radio path length to each user. This also requires a commensurate increase in backhaul. That truth seems not to be something that any of the carriers want to tell their shareholders.

n6gn

EVDO_user · EVDO User Joined: 20 May 2009 Posts: 29

That's the nature of sharing a resource though and cellular technology in general, right?

n6gn · Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 9:53 pm Post subject:

skierbri10 · EVDO Newbie Joined: 29 Sep 2009 Posts: 4

Weird, ATT has better 3g coverage than that. As seen with my iPhone. Not sure if it is roaming or not.

EVDO_user · EVDO User Joined: 20 May 2009 Posts: 29

onedavester · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:03 pm Post subject:

Verizon does not show all their deadzones. Very seldom is any rural area blanketed like they are showing.

Sprint might appear to have a lot less 3G coverage, but their maps are alot more accurate an realistic.

In the end Sprint probably has more.

im_electronic · Posted: Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:29 pm Post subject:

sprint's roaming agreements with VZ help out too...