Is Sprint's LTE coverage exaggerated on its website?

A company called Advanced Frequency Engineering (AFE) tested the LTE service of Verizon, Sprint and AT&T in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Kansas City and Atlanta markets. The tests revealed that not only did Sprint's LTE service not have the same reach as the other two carrier's LTE signal, it also was not as good as advertised on Sprint's own website. Site surveys and LTE availability tests showed that while both Verizon and AT&T's LTE signal reached across the entire area tested, Sprint's signal did not work in 75% to 90% of each market AFE looked at. The testing involved 1,000 miles of drive-testing and fixed testing using Samsung handsets and other equipment.

Based on the stats, where Verizon and AT&T scored 100% coverage in Dallas, Forth Worth, Kansas City and Atlanta with their LTE signal, Sprint's LTE signal was available in just 10% of the Dallas market, 15% in Atlanta, 20% in Fort Worth and 25% in Kansas City. Another problem is that according to AFE, Sprint's coverage is actually short of what the carrier claims online. Below, we have a map of Sprint's LTE coverage in Dallas from AFE's testing compared to a map used by Sprint displayed on its website. You can see the difference.

Sprint launched its LTE service in July and hopes to cover 123 million POP's by the end of the year.

source: FierceWireless