1,000 tests prove Sprint's 4G network is a joke compared to Verizon's (updated)

April 1, 2011 8:56 PM
Devindra Hardawar
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MobileBeat 2013
July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA
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Sprint may have been the first US carrier to deploy a 4G network, but it may be paying the price for being an early adopter of WiMax 4G technology.

According to a series of 1,000 speed tests conducted by BTIG Research in New York City over the past few weeks, Sprint’s 4G network gets download speeds of around 1 megabit per second on average — far slower than even 3G networks on rival carriers. By comparison, Verizon’s 4G network — which runs on competing LTE technology — achieved download speeds nearly 10 times as fast on average.

The test reveals Sprint’s deep dark secret about its 4G network: it’s simply not that fast. That’s mainly due to the company putting its weight behind WiMax technology years before it could see the potential of LTE. Now with faster LTE networks being deployed by Verizon and AT&T, Sprint’s going to have a hard time convincing consumers that they should pay extra for its slower 4G speeds.

BTIG tested the networks by using the wireless hotspot functionality on Sprint’s flagship Evo 4G phone and Verizon’s recently launched HTC Thunderbolt. The research firm tracked the speeds of both an iPad 2 and a Toshiba laptop connected to the hotspots.

Indoors, Verizon’s network averaged download speeds of 8.3 Mbps and upload speeds of 4.47 Mbps. Sprint’s, on the other hand, clocked in at 1.19 Mbps down and .39 Mbps up. You can see the full speed results in the chart below. BTIG also pointed out that Verizon’s network was more reliable, and the Thunderbolt achieved better battery life than the Evo.

It should be noted that BTIG’s Sprint 4G speeds seem slower than other speed tests, where Sprint normally achieves download speeds of around 2 Mbps to 3 Mbps. But even that seems difficult to call 4G — both AT&T and T-Mobile’s 3G networks can hit those speeds without issue. And when you compare Sprint’s 4G speeds to Verizon’s ridiculously fast LTE, it definitely seems like Sprint 4G customers are getting shortchanged.

Update: Sprint has responded to BTIG’s test:

We work closely with an independent third party research company which reports regularly to us on real-world, scientifically tested speeds and the results we see do not match what Piecyk found. We’ve recently seen speeds in NYC (inclusive of New Jersey) averaging 4-5Mbps download. We’re confident in the speed, latency and dependability of our current 4G network and in our 4G average download speed claim of 3-6Mbps with peak speeds of more than 10 Mbps download. And the Sprint 4G network will only continue to get better from here.

The Verizon 4G LTE network is very new so no one has any fully time-tested data on it yet. As their network gets loaded and more than just one smartphone comes forward on their network, we can better assess its capabilities. In the early days of 4G for Sprint, we saw some very high speed numbers when the Network was launched (much higher than our current speed claims) but what ultimately matters to customers is a consistent, long-standing experience based on a network loaded with customers.

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  • http://twitter.com/digitalborealis dhiraj patil

    Well it was always known that LTE will beat WiMax in Downlink… What different this article says any ways?

  • ThunderBone

    Well it means that Sprints customers are being shortchanged. They are paying a premium for Wimax 4G when they can get the same speed with a typical 3G connection. What that means is EVO 4G customers are fools paying for 4G service when the same experience they can obtain with a significantly cheaper iPhone 3GS on AT&T. What that means is that EVO 4G customers have a poor battery life to enable their 4G service but which eventually gives them only a 3G experience.Essentially Sprint follows P.T. Barnum – There is a sucker born every minute. Lets give them EVO 4G and get a lot of money from them.

  • mindctrl

    I wanted to learn more about the configuration of the devices used in the tests, but when clicking the link to the research it requires registration. Specifically I wanted to know if the Evo was running stock software or something custom. Sprint's Wimax is definitely slower than Verizon's LTE, but from what I've seen and read it's usually faster than the numbers posted here when running stock software on the Evo. The Wimax network performance also seems to vary widely in the various cities. There are also known issues with stock AOSP performance on Wimax, which is why I wanted to know if it was running the stock HTC version.Lately I've found their 3g network to be slower than it was previously, so I'm getting even less value for the money. I'm also one of the morons who bought the Evo and agreed to pay the $10/mo extra for 4g, when they don't even have 4g where I live. It's a “fee” for the privilege of owning a nice phone. They really should be paying me back for 4g service they charge me for that they don't deliver to me, and they should pay me back for subpar 3g service which is now started happening.At any rate, Sprint is finding themselves in a terrible position. They've needed new leadership for years, and I mean that from a Board perspective. Sprint has always been exciting for being on the cutting edge. The problem is that over the years they've made numerous bad decisions leading to an underperforming company when the opposite should have been true.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7SOJFEPZARSKR2IWT5L5A2DKLI Edward Conrad

    I wonder if the hotspot has anything to do with it. I owned an EVO in a 4g area before. The speeds were MUCH faster than the test shows.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OLNQOBWB6DXSHB36LH36XDT3RA Aw Riz

    The article doesn't make it clear if the observed sprint speeds are due to a theoretical wimax limitation or something to do with how much sprint has invested in its network back-end. If you are going to blame wimax as a technology, you also need to compare between sprint wimax from different cities as another poster mentioned, and other countries where wimax has been deployed. A case in point is Japan a country which is generally in front at deploying 4G telecom technology.

  • csmith1337

    Sprint is still the least expensive. I have yet to upgrade from my Palm Pre (And I won't until the Pre3 hits, WebOS > all your garbage) so I do not pay that extra $10 a month. $80 a month for unlimited data with no cap, text, talk to any cell on any network, free nights and weekends, 450 anytime minutes, no GPS surcharge, tethering without a plan because of the WebOS community.. yeah. I'd be paying how much more on the Verizon network for the same garbage?

  • http://profiles.google.com/denniskononuk Dennis Kononuk

    I still think that Sprint offers a great value for the money. I have EVO and it has done a great job for me. It is slow when used as a wireless hub for a laptop especially in 3G areas. Although I do consistently clock over 8Mbs down speen in San Francisco downtown.

  • http://twitter.com/Quemann Kyu Hwang Cho

    This article is a silly joke. What type of 1,000 tests were made, where and when? I admit WiMAX 4G might be a bit slower than LTE in terms of download spee, but it doesn't make sense at all to say WiMAX is slower than AT&T and T-Mobile's 3G. Even 10,000 tests can be made at places where VW's LTE seems to be mediocre, and proclaim the 10,000 tests seem vindicated. BTIG's tests sounds like a conspiracy to kill Sprint's pioneer spirit. Let's look into BTIG's 1,000 tests are scientifically and technologically vindicated. Besides, download speeds can vary from place to place, and even more important, download speeds are not everything about 4G. Bandwidth is what also matters in terms of 4G. Basically, LTE and WiMAX technologies are overlapped in OFDMA technology up to 85%, and LTE still lags behind WiMAX in handoff technology, if BTIG understands what handoff technology means.

  • http://twitter.com/stanar sathish narayanan

    This article doesnt make any sense. It is like comparing iPad1 and iPad2. Sprint has been a pioneer in deploying WiMAX as its 4G network more than two years ago. Please do your research before posting anything.

  • http://www.devindra.org Devindra Hardawar

    Please read the article, because I say that it's the 4G pioneer in the first sentence. That doesn't excuse its 4G for being slow.

  • Crowd_Sorcerer

    It's only a matter of time before Sprint will be forced to close its WiMAX network, and adopt LTE.

  • http://twitter.com/JazMac Jazmac

    These are about the most dopey of stories ever advanced by “paid” bloggers I've seen in a while. On paper, I should be able to kick Mike Tyson's arse, but in the ring where it all matters, a completely different story. Point is, do these tests for LTE 18 months from now after they get a full compliment of 4G devices, deploy in all the nook and cranny towns, hamlets from tents to burbs people on Sprint and other carriers complain about today, take on all the advances handset developers are making along the way THEN compare notes. At this point I am not impressed and Sprint 4G is still the standard to beat. Its not perfect but LTE has NOT been tested

  • RayAndrews

    Here in Austin the slowest I've ever seen was 4 down and 2 up. At my house, I usually come in 8 down and 3-4 up. I think this says more about the load on and size of Sprint's network (not to mention begging uncomfortable questions about who paid for the BTIG 'test'). Considering it's been saturated with users for almost a year, it's holding up well. Let's check back in on VZ a year down the road. At first, that 25 down looks awesome until you add people on and it starts to drop precipitously.

  • http://profiles.google.com/tpartridge89 TJ Partridge

    …funny, I get 6-10 down and .85-1.5 up on a technology that is A) more overloaded and B) older. LTE is undeniably faster, but come on people.

  • benny484

    i live in Camden that comes in Philadelphia 4g and i own Evo 4g. My 4g speed stays consistent around 5-6 mbps download and 1 mbps upload and i can see a jump upto 10mbps download speed only if you have a full signal. Well everyone talks negative about sprint i thinks its best in customer service and price comparison. Paying extra $10 dollars wont hurt when you dont need to watch your data usage i use almost 15-20gb per month per line and imagine i have 5 lines they are all data monsters and iam carefree yyyyyyyy beacuse iam with sprint.

  • http://profiles.google.com/jeffzemla jeff zemla

    Wow, 1000 tests… from the same location (inside BTIG offices). Breaking news: Sprint's WiMAX network is faster than LTE, as judged from my bathroom. Even BTIG's report states “To state the obvious, these results do not necessarily reflect the performance that either of these networks will deliver throughout all of New York City, let alone across the country”No doubt, LTE can reach higher speeds both in theory and in practice, but anyone who actually uses Sprint's 4g network knows the numbers reported here are a joke compared to the true average.

  • http://venturebeat.com/2011/06/17/sprint-lightsquared-deal/ Will Sprint benefit from LightSquared’s broken LTE network? | VentureBeat

    [...] Sprint will soon become a distant third among the major wireless carriers below Verizon and AT&T, which is awaiting approval of its merger with T-Mobile by regulators). The company desperately needs to improve its high-speed network to remain competitive. [...]

  • http://androidrockstar.com/?p=10668 Will Sprint benefit from LightSquared’s broken LTE network?

    [...] Sprint will soon become a distant third among the major wireless carriers below Verizon and AT&T, which is awaiting approval of its merger with T-Mobile by regulators. The company desperately needs to improve its high-speed network to remain competitive, which is likely the biggest incentive for closing a deal with LightSquared. Sprint was also in talks with ClearWire for a similar network deal, according to Bloomberg. However, the company could’ve decided it has a better chance of success with a broken 4G LTE network than it does with a much less impressive 4G WiMax network. [...]

  • http://venturebeat.com/2011/08/03/sprint-4g-wholesale/ Sprint offering wholesale 4G coverage | VentureBeat

    [...] 4G network uses 4G Wimax technology, which isn’t very impressive compared to 4G networks from other carriers. Still, for resellers it will certainly serve its [...]

  • http://modern-techie.com/sprint-offering-wholesale-4g-coverage/ Sprint offering wholesale 4G coverage | Modern Techie

    [...] 4G network uses 4G Wimax technology, which is not very impressive in comparison to 4G networks from other carriers. Still, for resellers this may certainly serve its [...]

  • http://androidrockstar.com/?p=22236 Sprint offering wholesale 4G coverage

    [...] 4G network uses 4G Wimax technology, which isn’t very impressive compared to 4G networks from other carriers. Still, for resellers it will certainly serve its [...]

  • http://venturebeat.com/2011/08/19/sprint-buying-clearwire/ Sprint planning to acquire Clearwire from cable companies | VentureBeat

    [...] The move to a LTE network is necessary for Clearwire to stay competitive, according to the company. As VentureBeat has reported in the past, Clearwire’s WiMax network is less than desirable compared to other high-speed networks. [...]

  • http://modern-techie.com/sprint-planning-to-procure-clearwire-from-cable-companies/ Sprint planning to procure Clearwire from cable companies | Modern Techie

    [...] to the corporate. As VentureBeat has reported some time past, Clearwire’s WiMax network is below desirable in comparison to other high-speed networks [...]

  • http://venturebeat.com/2011/10/21/sprint-ends-unlimited-data-plans/ Sprint’s unlimted 4G data party is over for most devices | VentureBeat

    [...] activity from the iPhone. Also, Sprint’s network has the smallest coverage area and the weakest performance compared to other U.S. carriers, as VentureBeat previously [...]

  • http://onlinemagazine.pcriot.com/2011/10/sprint%e2%80%99s-unlimted-4g-data-party-is-over-for-most-devices/ OnlineMagazine » Blog Archive » Sprint’s unlimted 4G data party is over for most devices

    [...] activity from the iPhone. Also, Sprint’s network has the smallest coverage area and the weakest performance compared to other U.S. carriers, as VentureBeat previously [...]

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