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4G Wireless Carriers Compared: Sprint vs. T-Mobile vs. Verizon

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Launched

September 2008

March 23, 2010

December 5, 2010

Coverage

Currently covers 74 cities. Claims it will cover 120 million people by the end of 2010.

Currently 80 cities. Claims it will cover 200 million people by the end of 2010.

As of Sunday, 38 metropolitan areas and 60 airports. Claims it will cover 110 million people by the end of 2010.

Technology

WiMax

HSPA+

LTE

Advertised Speeds
  • Downloads: Claims maximum of up to 10 Mbps; averages 3 to 6 Mbps
  • Uploads: Up to 3.1 Mbps
  • Downloads: Claims speeds of up to 21 Mbps; averages 5 to 8 Mbps
  • Uploads: Up to 5.7 Mbps
  • Downloads: Claims 5 to 12 Mbps (no average yet)
  • Uploads: Claims 2 to 5 Mbps (no average yet)

Hardware
  • 4G USB Device U1910
  • 4G Desktop Modem CPEi25150 by Motorola
  • Samsung Epic 4G, Galaxy S phone
  • HTC EVO 4G
  • Cradlepoint MBR-1000 4G Broadband Router (for business)
  • webConnect Rocket 2.0 laptop stick
  • webConnect Rocket laptop stick
  • myTouch 4G smartphone
  • G2 smartphone
  • Dell Inspiron Mini 10 4G netbook
  • LG VL600 (4G LTE USB modem)
  • Pantech UML290 (4G LTE USB modem)

Rates
  • Unlimited data plan (within the Sprint network) – (starts at) $49.99 month for USB modems, Evo 4G and Epic 4G users pay $10 monthly surcharge on top of existing data fees
  • 5 GB/month – $50
  • 10 GB/month – $80
  • Unlimited data plan, reduced speeds if exceeding 5GB/month – $49.99/month for new customers, $39.99 for existing
  • 200 MB/month, 10-cent fee for each MB over – $29.99/month for new customers, $24.99 for existing
  • Prepaid mobile broadband plans: $10 week pass for 100MB; $30 month pass for 300MB; $50 month pass for 1GB
  • 2.0 Laptop stick – $199.99 no contract, $49.99 (after mail-in rebate) with two year contract
  • 5GB/month – $50
  • 10GB/month – $80
    (both plans include $10/GB overage fee)
  • 4G USB modems – $49 (after $50 mail-in rebate) and two year contract

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Molly McHugh
Molly McHugh
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…
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