Based on Sprint speed test results, PC Magazine declares the carrier is ‘finally back’
Following recent comparative speed tests from PC Magazine, Sprint CTO John Saw discussed the carrier’s year-over-year network improvements.
Based purely on download throughput, the Sprint speed test yielded an average speed of 122.60 megabits per second in tests conducted in 30 major metropolitan areas in the U.S. Despite coming in third place on speed – Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile US took first and second place, respectively, with AT&T Mobility in fourth – Sprint sank to last place of the big four when other metrics including average upload speed, ping and reliability. Click here to read more about how all four carriers stacked up.
Back to Sprint. Saw commented on the how the carrier approaches download and upload based on customer behavior: “The only category where we lagged was in upload speed, which brought down our overall scores. Our lower upload speed, though, is actually by design because we know our customers download much more data than they upload. Sprint’s network is specifically built to support this, making more efficient use of our spectrum with less capacity dedicated to uploads. Because our network uses TDD-LTE we have the capability to do this while the other carriers using FDD-LTE do not.”
Using an incredibly topical example, Saw compared how improvements in Sprint speed test download results compare to Verizon Wireless, which PC Magazine rates as having the fastest LTE network.
“Last year, using [the PC Magazine] average download speed, it would have taken about 4.5 seconds for Sprint customers to download Rihanna’s song Work – now, just 2.5 seconds. This year, on average, for customers of Verizon … it takes two seconds to download that song – just 0.5 seconds faster than Sprint.”
Summing up his thoughts, Saw said Sprint has a competitive network and attractive pricing as compared to its competitors. “You’ll see Sprint and the other carriers continue jockeying back and forth for position when it comes to various network tests. But the reality is that all four carriers today offer a great network experience. And yet, when it comes to value, there’s a huge difference between carriers.”
