Is Sprint data supposed to be faster than AT&T data?

[fury]

A lot of things I heard before actually going to check out the Pre, and even part of the salesman's pitch, was that Sprint's data network is faster than AT&T's. It wasn't a factor in my curiosity or decision to try it, but I still wanted to test it out and see for myself.

Basically, my findings are that, at least as far as comparing the Pre and iPhone 3GS, the data speeds I'm getting from AT&T are faster. Significantly faster. The iPhone also seems to be getting slightly faster wifi speeds on the same router.

Am I missing something important in the config that makes the data speeds faster or is it just wishful thinking that the salesman was trying to impose on me?

Just for posterity's sake, here's the results I've gotten over multiple tests.. All on http://I.dslr.net/iphone_speedtest.html

Pre EVDO: 883, 722, 697kbps (3 tests)
iPhone 3GS on 3G: 1158, 1267, 1362kbps
Pre on Wifi (not my home connection) 1158, 1256, 1090
iPhone on Wifi (same) 1258, 1267, 1263

[Gathomblipoob]

I'll run those tests in a bit and share my results. Are you getting similar 3g strength on both phones?

[fury]

Yep. All five bars on both.

[jrsweb]

Well, this is a loaded question because it will be influenced by many variables - especially where you are located.

Where I am at, Sprint and Verizon blow the covers off AT&T in terms of speed. I'm sure there are other locations where the reverse is true. There are also deadspots and low signal areas for all carriers even in markets where they have good service.

So you can't really answer the question you ask unless you give the exact GPS co-ordinate you are comparing from to answer the question relative to that exact location.

I'm only referring to speed when running on the carriers data network.

[DarrenH]

See this chart from PC World: http://www.pcworld.com/zoom?id=167391&page=1&zoomIdx=1

You can see just how much the actual download speed depends on your location (and lots of those other factors mentioned in previous replies).

[fr4nk1yn]

boygeniusreport just reported on the big 3s speeds.
Sprint held it's own. It's been reported on a number of blogs that Sprints speeds are much faster in congested AT&T areas like NYC.