Right about now people all across America are just now learning about Project Fi, which is Google’s long awaited and rumored wireless service that they just announced earlier this morning. The existence of the service is out there, and we’ve posted a comprehensive breakdown of the service details which you can check out here if you like. If you’ve kept up on Project Fi throughout most of the day, by now you probably already know that the service works by switching between T-Mobile, Sprint, and over a million different WiFi hotspots to give you a connection for all your service needs. It picks the best network depending on your location with criteria like the strongest signal and the fastest speeds. How does it compare to say, AT&T and Verizon Wireless though, which happen to be the two largest carriers in the U.S.? Let’s take a look at some coverage map comparisons to figure this out.
While Sprint has been improving their network this past year and continue to do so, and T-Mobile has taken leaps and bounds to better their network as well, both AT&T and Verizon in many areas can have better coverage. So the important details for people on either AT&T or Verizon is how the Project Fi coverage is going to stack up to what they already subscribe to.
Based on the coverage maps for both Verizon Wireless and AT&T, Project Fi may not be able to offer you the coverage you’ll need or the speeds you want. It all depends on your location, and it will be different for just about everyone. Google’s map tool tells me I’ll get 4G LTE speeds at my current address, and being a current T-Mobile customer I know this to be true. If you’re interested in how your coverage will compare through all three services or just your current service and Project Fi, check out the tool for the Project Fi coverage map which you can do from the network section on their page, and check the coverage map from the website of your current provider. While Project Fi may work better for some than Verizon or AT&T, based on the coverage maps Project Fi’s coverage for 4G LTE will be less than the other two. That does not however mean you personally will experience slower speeds, and in fact you may actually have faster speeds for 4G LTE with Project Fi than your existing carrier. The only way to truly know is to hit the interactive maps and check your addresses where you’ll be using the services most.
