(Updated, March 19, 8:53 a.m.)
PROVIDENCE – RootMetrics, an independent mobile research and testing organization based in Seattle, announced last week that AT&T and Verizon Wireless tied for the No. 1 spot on the company’s RootScore report for Rhode Island, which measures network reliability and speed, as well as overall voice, data and text performance.
The two mobile network companies tied in the RootMetrics test of reliability for Rhode Island, which included email success rate, call failures, text delivery within 10 seconds and send failure rate. In the speed evaluation, however, AT&T pulled ahead of Verizon to claim the No. 1 spot while Verizon placed second.
RootMetrics’ speed test gauged average Web and app performance, average download speed, average time to download 10 emails and average upload speed.
AT&T also outperformed Verizon in terms of data performance. All four major mobile networks – AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint – tied in the RootMetrics voice performance evaluation, while text performance saw a three-way tie between AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, with T-Mobile slightly underperforming in that test.
In the overall RootScore ranking, T-Mobile ranked below AT&T and Verizon, while Sprint ranked last. RootMetrics testers drove 896 miles to 30 different indoor locations around Rhode Island to conduct the test in July 2013.
AT&T invested more than $50 million in its wireless and wired networks in Rhode Island between 2011 and 2013, the company said, including more than 20 network upgrades last year alone as part of the company’s plan to expand and enhance IP broadband networks in the state. The upgrades included new cell tower sites, additional wireless and wired network capacity, and new broadband network connections.
“Rhode Island residents depend on our fast and reliable Internet connections more and more every day, whether it’s instant access to files and apps at work, watching a video at home, or even receiving updates from connected cars or home monitors,” said Patricia Jacobs, president of AT&T New England. “AT&T is making robust investments locally to make sure that residents can take full advantage of the latest services and tools, and that businesses have the speed they need to compete and grow.”
Although unable to provide network upgrade investment figures for Rhode Island, Verizon Wireless said it had invested $245 million in wireless network enhancements across the New England region during 2013, increasing the company’s total regional network investment to $3.6 billion since its inception in 2000.
Verizon Wireless recently announced it was ranked highest among all national wireless providers in the Northeast, including in the state of Rhode Island, in the J.D. Power 2014 Wireless Network Quality Study published March 6. Verizon also ranked at No. 1 in the 2013 study released last August.
“Today’s increasingly mobile lifestyle – supported by innovative apps and smart accessories – requires advanced and reliable wireless networks,” said Christine Berberich, New England president for Verizon Wireless. “The results of the J.D. Power study help to affirm that Verizon Wireless is committed to providing customers in New England and across the country with the most reliable wireless network experience.”
To view the complete RootMetrics report for Rhode Island, visit www.rootmetrics.com.
