Won first place nationally for the best 4G LTE network with the fastest overall speeds and best performance.

PC Magazine went to a lot of effort to test the data speeds of America’s wireless providers, traveling to 30 U.S. cities sampling both 3G and 4G wireless networks to see which carrier delivers the most consistent and fastest results.

After 240,000 lines of test data, the magazine declared the results a bit “muddy.”

They have a point.

Depending on which carrier’s flavor of “4G” is being utilized, where reception was strongest, how much spectrum was available in each tested city, and how many people were sharing the cell tower at the time of each test, PC Magazine was able to deliver the definitive results. And it was effectively a draw.

Verizon Wireless achieved victory in 19 cities, AT&T won in ten others, and T-Mobile came in pretty close behind, and that carrier does not even operate an LTE 4G network. But taking all factors into account, including upload and download speeds, whether or not test downloads actually completed, and whether streamed media was tolerable, Verizon Wireless won first prize nationwide.

But by how much?

Not enough to matter, if you are using Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile.

But the results do offer some things to think about.

1. MetroPCS is a mess. Despite the fact this smaller carrier is building its own 4G LTE network, results were simply terrible. Either its backhaul network from cell towers offers lower capacity or its backbone network is screaming for an upgrade.
2. Cricket was not willing to participate in the test. Their network, still 3G, delivers dependably “meh” results in the places where they actually provide coverage. The company has been reducing data allowances on their mobile broadband plans and raising prices on others. In one conference call with investors, company executives admitted they have been losing mobile broadband customers and expect that to continue at the prices they are charging.
3. Sprint needs their forthcoming 4G LTE network more than ever. Their 3G data service turned in mediocre results and their 4G WiMAX network was yesterday’s news a year ago. Sprint’s 3G network is also notorious for dead-end downloads, a situation I have witnessed on friends’ phones for several months.
4. Verizon Wireless remains far ahead of AT&T in covering more cities with their 4G LTE network. But more customers are also starting to use Verizon’s newer network, and the more customers piling on, the slower the speeds get for everyone. AT&T turned in some superior speed results in several cities, but those networks are often used less than the competition, for now.
5. No network is good if you cannot afford to use it. As America’s wireless carriers keep raising prices and reducing usage allowances to keep data usage under control, there will be a breaking point where customers decide the money they spend for wireless data just is not worth it, especially if they live in a place where Wi-Fi is free and easy to find.
6. What you test today will probably be different tomorrow. Wireless networks are constantly evolving and changing, with a wide range of factors contributing to their overall performance. Perhaps a more useful test would have been measuring how wireless carriers respond when their networks need upgrading and how long it takes them to respond to changing usage patterns. Verizon seems particularly aggressive, AT&T less so based on these results. The real surprise seems to be how well T-Mobile’s older technology is performing, and how quickly Sprint is now falling behind. On Cricket and MetroPCS, “you get what you pay for” seems to apply.

Consumer reporters across the country say Verizon’s boasts of savings for consumers on their new “share everything” plans are hardly universal. Many customers face significantly higher cell phone bills switching to Verizon’s new revenue-boosting plans that eliminate voice minutes and texting allowances.

[flv width=”360″ height=”290″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WCPO Cincinnati Verizon Savings Not So Much 6-18-12.mp4[/flv]

WCPO in Cincinnati’s John Matarese reports why Verizon’s new pricing plan will cost many customers more. (2 minutes)
 [flv width=”360″ height=”290″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WPTV West Palm Beach Verizon Share Plan 6-18-12.mp4[/flv]

WPTV in West Palm Beach talks with CNET about how consumers will need to become better educated to avoid the potential bill shock that comes from expensive, usage-restricted data plans. (2 minutes)
 [flv width=”480″ height=”290″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WWLP Springfield Verizon New Plans 6-15-12.mp4[/flv]

WWLP in Springfield, Mass. informs consumers how quickly they can burn through Verizon’s new $50 1GB wireless data plan. (1 minute)

A consumer firestorm is growing over Verizon Wireless new service plans.

As a growing firestorm over Verizon Wireless’ newly-announced plans continued today as some on Wall Street are becoming convinced Verizon has bungled the case for their new “Share Everything” concept.

Industry analyst Rob Enderle told ComputerWorld that Verizon’s handling of their pricing changes “is similar to the Netflix mistake last year that almost sunk that company.” Enderle believes the changes Verizon wants to force on the wireless market are potentially too radical to be embraced within the next two weeks, when Verizon’s new rate plans become active.

Verizon Wireless has been trying to quell the increasing criticism from consumers by reminding them they will not be forced to move to the new plans from an existing account.

“We’re allowing the existing customer base to have a choice; we’re not forcing anyone to more to new plans,” said Steve Mesnick, head of marketing for Verizon Wireless. “I take exception to [suggestions] of people leaving Verizon,” he said.

While Mesnick is correct Verizon will not force customers to choose new plans on June 28, the company will require existing grandfathered data customers to abandon unlimited data when they renew their Verizon contract or upgrade to a new discounted device.

Verizon claims it interviewed 50,000 customers before implementing the new plans and believe they will be embraced by the majority of Verizon customers.

Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney followed a different approach, pretending consumer complaints don’t exist: “We are very pleased with the response to our announcement as customers begin to understand how the new Share Everything Plans will save them money or provide them with more value for the same money they are paying today.”

Meanwhile, customers who have no intention of either forfeiting the unlimited data plan they have grandfathered on their account or who refuse to pay Verizon’s new asking price are busily upgrading their phones and signing new two-year contracts before June 28, buying an additional two years of unlimited data. Many others claim to be leaving, often for Sprint, which continues to offer unlimited data, or a prepaid provider.

Customers are worried about losing their grandfathered unlimited data plans.

Verizon and AT&T have a combined 38 percent of customers on grandfathered unlimited data plans and most are insistent on keeping them. News that customers could retain unlimited data by forfeiting the wireless carrier’s subsidy for new phones has gone over like a lead balloon, especially with price tags of $699 or more for popular new smartphones.

“The importance of this client base cannot be overstated–unlimited mobile data plan users are some of the most valuable subscribers in the industry,” Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGR, told Fierce Wireless. “Our research shows that these two carriers need to be very careful to offer a migration plan to replace the grandfathered unlimited plans that provides the data service, value and recognition that meets these valuable consumers’ needs.”

With popular new smartphones like the iPhone becoming available on no-frills prepaid carriers like Cricket, wireless carriers are at risk of subscriber defections.

Despite consumer discontent, Wall Street has supported the income-enhancing new wireless plans and is embracing the increased fees Verizon will likely earn as data demand rises.

Kuittinen

Forbes Magazine has been pondering Verizon’s radical shift to eliminate buckets of voice minutes and text messages, while increasing prices on wireless data just when mobile broadband is expected to become the new profit center for wireless phone companies. It appears Verizon is well on the way to milking the data cash cow.

Tero Kuittinen notes Verizon Wireless has been on a rate increase binge, primarily by eliminating cheaper plans in favor of those with bigger buckets for voice and text services customers simply don’t need. What used to cost $50 a month two years ago for a respectable minute plan jumped to $70 for a smartphone with data, and now will increase another $20 to $90 a month, and give customers a smaller data allowance.

Verizon Wireless argues customers will get more bang for their buck, and for heavy voice, mobile hotspot and texting users, they may be right. But for the average customer who watches their voice minutes and keeps texting to a reasonable level, prices are going nowhere but up, whether you want unlimited voice and texting or not.

Q. Will Verizon Wireless herd all of its customers to unlimited voice calling at a higher price? A. Yes!

Why is Verizon taking the risk of alienating consumers by forcing them into a major price hike?

If you don’t believe Verizon Wireless’ newest family-share plans work for you, you are not alone.

More than a few Verizon Wireless customers are in open revolt on the company’s interactive forum, and some are preparing to leave a wireless company they have stayed with for up to 15 years. In a word, the consensus from these vocal customers is: “enough.”

Customer ‘bgudgel‘ explains why:

I have been a loyal Verizon customer for seven years now. I have defended them and recommended them to friends and family, but I feel my time as a Verizon customer has come to an end. The simple reason is that Verizon no longer sees me as a valued customer. I am just a source of income to them. I was prepared to swallow the $30 upgrade fee, but the new shared data plans are the final straw.

You can argue pricing and details all you want, but the simple fact is this – Verizon is clearly not interested in providing great service at fair prices to their customers anymore. The want to provide great service at the highest possible price, and they are taking pages out of the Big Cable handbook to do it – requiring services you don’t want/need in order to get the service that you actually do. And on top of that, the price levels they have chosen for data thresholds and adding additional lines are completely indefensible.

Verizon, I have heard your message loud and clear. You no longer care about me as a customer, so I will gladly take my business somewhere else. I do not know if I can get a better deal anywhere else, but I will no longer give money to you based on the simple principle that you have no respect for your loyal customers. It feels like you are just using us, and that is when I say goodbye.

A California customer considers this the last straw for Big Red:

I too have been a Verizon customer for years. But this final slap in the face is it for me. First, the stupid $30 “upgrade” fee for the “privilege” of buying a new phone from Verizon, and now this absurdity.

I am researching other companies’ prepaid plans now, and I fully intend to be gone within a couple of weeks, at most. And I won’t encounter cancellation penalties as our 3-line plan is more than 2 years old.

I have grown weary of “data” and its rising costs and caps, and will purposely look for a voice/text plan only. Enough.

And Lyondellic tallies up Verizon’s nickle-and-diming customers over the past year:

During my year with Verizon, I have seen a failed attempt to impose a $2 ‘convenience’ fee for paying my bill online. I have also seen a $30 fee added for device upgrades. Then there was the February 2012 change in the customer agreement that does not limit so-called ‘Network Optimization’ to 3G devices, which also allows throttling (let’s call it what it is) during the current and NEXT billing cycles. Verizon seems to have no issues with someone getting full 4G LTE speed, as long as they pay for it by the GB, but apparently feel that those of us with unlimited data plans should be considered data hogs that can be slowed down into billing cycle that has not even started. So network optimization in Verizon-speak means freeing up bandwidth for their pay by the GB customers by throttling customers with grandfathered unlimited data plans that are using their devices in a manner that is consistent with their agreements! Finally, we are told about the cries for family shared-data plans. I figured Verizon might do something that would make it attractive for me to move into a tiered data plan, boy was I ever wrong.

Now Verizon wants to charge $40 per smartphone to actually use the shared-data plans! So, for someone who is paying ~$87 per month for a smartphone with unlimited data, the cost per month will now be somewhere around $120 for the 6GB plan! How are these plans a good thing for either new or existing customers?!? I was considering paying full price to upgrade to a Galaxy Nexus in order to keep my unlimited data plan, but I have changed my mind. I can order the Galaxy Nexus from Google for $399 and use a prepaid, no-contract plan from T-Mobile plan that provides me with 100 minutes, unlimited text messaging and 5GB of data at 4G speeds for $30 month. Since I do not make a lot of calls on my phone, why would I want to continue to pay Verizon $87 per month without subsidized device upgrades, which would move me into a $120 month plan?

So I look at this as a simple lesson in economics. I can pay the ETF, buy a GNex and still come out ahead by moving to T-Mobile. The beauty of this is that I will also be taking money away from Verizon, as they clearly want to treat me like a second-class customer that needs to fork over more of my money. So I will vote with my dollars and send a clear message to Verizon that their conduct is unacceptable. I encourage others here to consider doing the same. Your speed may not be blazing fast with T-Mobile, but neither will be the speed that money flies out of your wallet or purse. My .02 cents!