AT&T Coverage - Wireless Broadband
This is the 2008 Review. Click here for the 2009 AT&T Coverage Review.
The Facts
AT&T's coverage for wireless internet is best in urban areas. They advertise coverage in the 'top 300 cities' of the United States. That number is expected to grow to 350 by the end of the year. Much to the agony of Verizon and Sprint, this kind of coverage would give them a run for their money.
AT&T's coverage for wireless internet is best in urban areas...you
can expect 3G mobile broadband speeds. If you are traveling between cities on
the interstate...[it] will feel
like its somewhere between a slow DSL and dialup.
In these places, you can expect 3G mobile broadband speeds. If you are traveling between cities on the interstate, you may connect to their EDGE network at times. This will feel like its somewhere between a slow DSL and dialup. Mostly though, it will be GPRS (read snail dialup speed).
As an added bonus,
AT&T "offer[s] use of its hotspots for free to Laptop Connect [AT&T
Mobile Broadband] and smartphone users".
For Laptop Connect users, it started on May 20th, 2008.
That works out to be more high speed coverage via WiFi at 17,000 locations. That's every Starbucks and more. Not bad at all if you take into account the speed at these locations will be faster than 3G. For business travelers, AT&T usually works out to be an excellent bet because of international roaming agreements in many countries. Many of which also have 3G mobile broadband networks.
To simplify, AT&T will get you coverage in most places. What will vary is the speed:
|
Location |
Connection Type |
Speed (kilobits per sec) |
Speed (kilobytes/s) |
|
Partner Locations |
WiFi |
3,000 - 20,000 Kbps |
375 KB/s - 2,500 KB/s |
|
Urban Areas |
3G |
600 - 1,400 Kbps |
73.2 KB/s - 170.8 KB/s |
|
Interstates |
EDGE |
200 - 400 Kbps |
24.4 KB/s - 48.8 KB/s |
|
Rural Areas |
GPRS |
56 - 114 Kbps |
6.8 KB/s - 13.9 KB/s |
Their HSPA network is currently said to be finalized, bringing 1.7 Mbps (Down) and 800 Kbps (Up) to all users in its range. The current plans are to bring their high speed network to 350 markets with speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps by the end of the year.
If this techno jibber-jabber is like predicting where rain droplets will fall, take a crash course in Mobile Broadband Buyer's Guide.
Before
getting the service, it's always a good idea to check their broadband cards to see if they support the higher speeds being rolled out.
If you're curious as
to how your area or travel routes matchup, check out the AT&T Coverage Viewer.
You can use it below. If it doesn't display, you can find it
here. See
our carrier
comparison for how AT&T coverage compares with other providers.
If you've found what speed class you fall into based on AT&T coverage and you want to make sense of it, check out the review on speed. Read on for more on AT&T reliability...
