Sprint Mobile Broadband Speed Review
For the most recent info, check out the 2010 Sprint Mobile Broadband 3G / 4G Speed Review.
The Facts
Sprint mobile broadband speed is similar to DSL and about ten times faster than using dialup.
So you're searching to find out what Sprint mobile broadband speed is like and you find the regular stuff:
"With a Sprint Mobile Broadband Card, you get average download speeds of 600-1400 Kbps, peaking at 3.1 Mbps, and 350-500 Kbps average upload speeds, peaking at 1.8 Mbps. Similar to DSL, and about ten times faster than using a dial-up modem"
That's nice and all but what does that really mean? How fast will it be where you are? How fast is 600-1400 Kbps anyway?
First off, let's put this in context by comparing it to what we're already used to:
Connection Type |
Average Download Speed |
Maximum Download Speed |
Average Upload Speed |
Maximum Upload Speed |
Dialup |
40-50 kbps |
1 Mbps* |
N/A |
N/A |
600 - 1400 kbps |
3.1 Mbps |
500 - 800 kbps |
1.8 Mbps |
|
DSL |
2.971 Mbps |
10 Mbps |
512 kbps |
896 kbps |
Cable |
2 - 4.8 Mbps |
16 Mbps |
3 Mbps |
1 Mbps |
WiFi Hotspots |
1 - 3 Mbps |
20 Mbps |
N/A |
N/A |
In my opinion, numbers are great but pictures are better (I'm visual):
Just from a quick glance at the graphs, you'll see that Sprint mobile broadband speed definitely isn't DSL or Cable. It's more like a slower DSL on average. Don't be fooled though, it definitely holds its own. On good days in 'wired' cities, there have been reports of Sprint mobile broadband speed kicking butt. It has for me and chances are it would for you. Not only do you see how fast it's been for me, but my actual speeds using a P2P client (Bittorrent).
Don't take my word alone on this.
The best way to see how Sprint mobile broadband speed matches up is to see how fast what you've got right now is. Use this tool below to find out. When you do, just glance up and see how it compares to get a real 'feeling' of how fast it'd be.
If you're wondering how Sprint does against the other 3G competition, check out Mobile Broadband Buyer's Guide and skip to lesson 8 on "Who's Got The Fastest Mobile Broadband". You'll see how Sprint holds its own against the rest in just about every market out there.
The Fine Print
A few questions that pop up from time to time range from "Can I use Sprint Mobile Broadband for downloading movies and playing games online" to "Can I have it on all the time?"
The short answer to both questions are yes. Sprint has the speed necessary to do both. I actively use my Sprint broadband card for online gaming, as well as regular office work. It gets the job done. What you have to watch out for, as I previously mentioned, is Sprint's 5 Gigabyte cap. The last thing you need in your life is getting charged $51.20 for every Gigabyte extra you used.
Even though the Sprint mobile broadband speed will most likely give you the kind of downloads most people are looking for, what about the Sprint coverage area?
