For the most recent info, check out the 2010 Sprint Coverage Review
The Facts
As we’ve mentioned before, the Sprint coverage area for mobile broadband has often been quoted as the largest. Unfortunately, largest doesn’t mean everywhere. It doesn’t take anything but one glance at their national coverage map to notice some sizeable gaps.
To be fair, no one expects them to have mobile broadband coverage in the Rocky Mountains. Alternatively, it would be nice to be rafting down the Grand Canyon while checking your email but it’s not exactly necessary.
What you can expect from the Sprint coverage area is 3G speeds on most interstates and just about all of any major city. Despite their horrible churn (customer retention rate), Sprint has a pretty robust 3G network following the acquisition of Nextel some years back. For the most part, it’ll serve business travelers and truckers very well.
I’ve personally tested it over 1001 miles of highway at 70 miles per hour (New Orleans to Jacksonville and Tampa to Atlanta) and I had my connection get dropped once…for 15 minutes total. That’s solid. It’s even helped me out when I blew a tire at 80 miles/hr.
If you live in a rural area, your coverage may or may not be spectacular. Naturally, the best way to be sure is to check out the Sprint coverage area where you live (you can use the map below) or actually get a broadband card and take it for a test drive. I recommend both (in that order).
First up:
How’d you do?
The Fine Print
“Our coverage maps provide high level estimates of our coverage areas when using your device outdoors under optimal conditions. Coverage isn’t available everywhere. Estimating wireless coverage and signal strength is not an exact science.
There are gaps in coverage within our estimated coverage areas that, along with other factors both within and beyond our control (network problems, software, signal strength, your wireless device, structures, buildings, weather, geography, topography, etc.), will result in dropped and blocked connections, slower data speeds, or otherwise impact the quality of services.
Services that rely on location information, such as E911 and GPS navigation, depend on your device’s ability to acquire satellite signals (typically not available indoors) and network coverage. E911 services also depend local emergency service provider systems/support. Estimated future coverage subject to change”.
Yeah. What they said.
To cut the long story short here, it’s your regular disclaimer to warn you on not having ridiculous expectations of the Sprint coverage area. It is a wireless service and as such is not recommended as a primary means of communication (much in the same way you should have a home phone, not just a cell). Do I subscribe to this?
Nope. I’m all digital. Just thought you should know.
Now that we’ve covered the Sprint coverage area, Sprint wireless plans and mobile broadband speed, it’s about time we got to the slick Sprint broadband cards you can use to get online.
