• By Wilson Rothman
    Dec 17, 2008 1:00 PM 2,437
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    Portland 3G Data Test: AT&T, Sprint and Verizon

    My in-laws live in Portland's sorta twin city, Vancouver, WA. Over Thanksgiving weekend, I decided to check out the 3G situation.

    PGE Park (Saturday, 12 noon)
    Home of the Triple-A Beavers, among other minor league sports teams, it's a centrally located venue for fun stuff in Portland. Surprisingly, there was a Starbucks conveniently located right nearby.

    Portland State University (Saturday, 1pm)
    Surprisingly, the park bench near the university where I tested was not very far from PGE Park, just a few miles, but the reception was quite different, proving that you need diversity of locations to do a proper 3G test.

    Vancouver, WA (Saturday, 10am)
    Up across the Columbia River from Portland, the "other" Vancouver is a low-key city whose residents score a sweet double-whammy: No income tax (in WA) and no sales tax (if they shop down in OR).

    Portland City 3G Coverage


    Portland Area 3G Coverage

    Results
    Sprint had a strong showing, with some blistering download speeds at Portland State University. Reception wasn't hot for anyone at PGE, though in Vancouver, Sprint again was the winner. AT&T, as expected, managed high upload speeds in Portland, though the fire wasn't there in Vancouver.

    Back to main Coast-to-Coast 3G Data Test story


    Send an email to Wilson Rothman, the author of this post, at wilson@gizmodo.com.