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Verizon 4G LTE ‘blows away’ Sprint’s WiMAX in 1,000 speed tests

Updated Dec 19th, 2018 7:09PM EST
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Sprint is no longer the “4G king,” BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk proclaimed on Friday following a massive speed test that pitted Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G against Verizon Wireless’ HTC ThunderBolt. Piecyk and his team conducted more than 1,000 speed tests in New York City to determine which was faster: the ThunderBolt, running on Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network, or the EVO 4G, running on Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network. The analyst found that Verizon’s offering was consistently and significantly faster than Sprint’s 4G phone. The speed tests were conducted using the integrated mobile hotspot functions on both devices, and the testers were equipped with both an Apple iPad 2 and a Toshiba laptop for the tests. In the tests, Verizon’s LTE network averaged speeds of 9Mbps down and 5Mbps up while Sprint’s WiMAX network averaged about 1Mbps both down and up. Verizon’s LTE speeds peaked at 19Mbps down and 10Mbps up during the tests. Piecyk also found that Verizon Wireless’ LTE network was more reliable than Sprint’s WiMAX offering, and it offers better coverage. Adding insult to injury, he says the ThunderBolt has better battery life than the EVO 4G as well. Hit the break for a chart mapping out BTIG’s findings.

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Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.