| When the cases get made in these coming | | | | be judged by as of yet. Early claims of reliability |
| months for which company is providing the best | | | | would suggest that the plans made for the new |
| mobile broadband service, you may see a slew of | | | | wireless service were becoming reality. |
| confusing claims. For starters, there is a price | | | | 3. Customer service. The great part about judging |
| point all the networks - even the fourth | | | | customer service standards is every company |
| generation networks - are hovering around. | | | | has the opportunity to be excellent in this |
| Secondly, is there any way to reliably test speed | | | | department. The question is whether they have |
| and control data usage for simple tasks like emails | | | | allotted the time and money to make it happen. |
| or texting? While cost and speed are definitely | | | | You may be surprised how poor some of the |
| two areas which have to be covered, it appears | | | | major companies are at keeping their customers |
| that the companies will all be fighting over other | | | | satisfied when there is a problem with service. |
| qualifications just as important to consumers: | | | | This factor should never be downplayed, |
| reliability, customer service and total area of | | | | especially with new technology entering the scene. |
| coverage. You will probably be able to figure out | | | | 4. Cost. While the different mobile broadband |
| the best of the bunch by getting the specs from | | | | providers seem to be hovering around the same |
| each provider and running down this list. | | | | markers, it may be instructive to take a peak |
| 1. Area of coverage. One of the factors which | | | | into wireless internet services in the home. Can |
| some companies can jump ahead on is the area | | | | the two plans be combined to represent a |
| of network coverage. In this case, coverage | | | | savings? While some companies may not be |
| under a 4G network is going to be superior to the | | | | offering service to homes or vice versa, if you |
| previous generations of wireless service. The | | | | see a discount in terms of wired broadband vs. |
| groundwork laid down under the forth generation | | | | wireless, it may be worth taking the leap for all of |
| banner can provide service to just about any | | | | your internet needs. |
| outlying area of the city. It could mean service to | | | | 5. Speed. For many customers, speed tops the |
| people without prior access to broadband, or it | | | | list of concerns. While this consideration may not |
| could mean taking your work to any part of town | | | | seem like much when service goes down, for |
| with your mobile device. | | | | day-to-day operations it's crucial. Taking that into |
| 2. Overall reliability. The reliability question is quite | | | | account, the fourth generation networks appear |
| difficult to answer, as so many complaints are | | | | to have the advantage. The potential to improve |
| shrugged off rather than reported. Also, the 4G | | | | exists for 3G networks, but the edge is a real |
| networks have not had a sufficient sample size to | | | | one at the moment. |