Study tests cell carriers in R.I.

By Emily Greenhalgh
PBN Web Editor
Twitter: @EGreenhalgh

SEATTLE – According to a study by RootMetrics, a data company focusing on mobile phone use, Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T perform best in the Providence area.

The Seattle-based tech company rated the different carriers based on data speed and reliability, dropped calls and text service.

In the data performance category, Verizon and T-Mobile tied for the top spot, earning scores of 79.7 and 78.8 out of 100, respectfully.

Comparatively, AT&T came in third in the data performance category with a score of 62.9, Sprint in fourth with a score of 11.1 and MetroPCS in dead last with a score of 1.9.

Regarding phone calls, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and MetroPCS recorded statistically equal performances and the study did not declare a clear victor.

Verizon earned a score of 97.1, AT&T a score of 93.6, T-Mobile a score of 89.5, MetroPCS a score of 83.2 and Sprint earned a score of 72.7.

The report called a draw between Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T in the texting category.

In the Providence area, the average time to receive a text message sent from outside the same network was 3.2 seconds on the Verizon network, 4.3 seconds on T-Mobile, 4.4 seconds on AT&T, 4.3 on MetroPCS and 67.7 seconds on the Sprint network.

Sprint’s texting times decreased significantly when a message was sent from within its own network, bumping the time down from 67.7 seconds to 4.7 seconds.

Conversely, the time to receive a text from within the MetroPCS network jumped from 4.3 seconds to 18.2, placing the carrier last when comparing receive times for within network delivery.