Study Examines iPhone 4S Carriers, Which One is the Best?

Metrico Wireless set out to discover which iPhone 4S wireless carrier is tops, and they did it by performing over 21,000 Web downloads, running more than 8,000 data download/upload tests while mobile and while stationary, and by making around 6,000 voice calls. Or, you know, a typical day in the life of a teenager. So which carrier stood head and shoulders above the rest?

Well, none of them, really. AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon each excelled in different areas. AT&T, for example, outperformed the other two in download speeds "by a considerable margin." Web browsing was faster on AT&T's network too, which isn't surprising considering it's the only one of the three to support HSPA+ on the iPhone 4S.


Verizon pulled ahead in call success rates, albeit just slightly, Metrico says. During Metrico's tests, Verizon dropped calls 2.1 percent of the time, compared to 2.8 percent for AT&T and 3.7 percent for Sprint.

Sprint, of course, is the only carrier offering unlimited data with no caps or overage charges, but as far as Metrico is concerned, Sprint also has the best network voice quality on the uplink (AT&T had the best quality on the downlink).

Regardless of which mobile phone you own, which wireless carrier are you contracted with, and are you happy with them?