If you’re in the market for an iPhone 4S, you may be wondering which carrier you should give your money to. After all, you now have a new choice to consider, Sprint, not to mention the ever-shifting landscape of each carrier’s plans and add-ons. Let’s try to break it down.
In order to do this, however, we must start by acknowledging that different people want different things out of their phone. Some people travel internationally a great deal; some stay stateside almost all of the time. Some people are counting pennies; some people are rolling in cash. So before we go any further, let’s identify a few categories that all carriers can be judged by.
Network quality – Some call this “coverage,” others “speed,” but it’s all basically the same–will your calls and texts and browsing get through?
Plan costs – How much will you be paying each month? Is one carrier considerably cheaper than another? And remember–this category has more to do with data costs these days than it does with voice minutes.
International roaming costs – All iPhone 4S’s are world phones, so they can function in most places on the globe. But are you locked in to your carrier’s international calling plan if you leave the country, or can you swap SIM cards and use a local provider for far less?
Browsing while talking – Only AT&T’s network lets you use a Web browser and Internet-enabled apps at the same time you are talking to someone on the phone. On a Verizon or Sprint phone, you have to hang up your call to go on the Internet.
Not all these factors are equal — and they’re certainly not valued the same way by every user. Network quality seems fairly important to everyone, but international costs? If you do care about that, then you care a lot.
That being the case, let’s rank their importance as best we can, giving each a value from 4 points (most important) to 1 (least important). For example, here’s how my needs stack up:
Ranking Values
Network Quality: 4 (I want my phone to work.)
Browsing while talking: 3 (It’s not huge, but I like it.)
Plan costs: 2 (The difference in plan prices is between $5 and $10 for me.)
International costs: 1 (I am rarely out of the country.)
Your mileage may vary, but you can do the same ranking/points list.
Now, let’s shift gears slightly. While everyone’s going to prioritize differently, there are some things we do know for sure:
Verizon has a better network than AT&T or Sprint. (You may disagree.)
Sprint has the cheapest plans.
Only AT&T lets you browse and talk at the same time.
Only Verizon lets you use local SIM cards when abroad.
So, we can give points to this as well, with the higher point value going to the company with the better/most consumer-friendly attribute. There are three players, but in all cases, there’s always a tie between two of them, so I’ve limited the points field to 2 points:
Attribute Values
Network Quality: Verizon 2, AT&T 1, Sprint 1
Plan costs: Sprint 2, Verizon 1, AT&T 1
Browse and talk: AT&T 2, Verizon 1, Sprint 1
International costs: Verizon 2, AT&T 1, Sprint 1
Now, I’m no Nate Silver, but if you take your ranking values and multiply them by the attribute values, you get a rough idea of which carrier is better at the things which are important to you. Again, I’ll use my preferences as an example:
Network quality was my most important thing, at 4 points. That means that Verizon gets 8 points (ranking value of 4 points times attribute value of 2), while AT&T and Sprint each get 4 points.
Browsing while talking was my second-most important thing, at 3 points. That means that AT&T gets 6 points for that, while Verizon and Sprint get 3 each.
Plan costs was my third-most important thing, at 2 points. That means that Sprint gets 4 points for that, while Verizon and AT&T get 2 each.
International costs was last, at 1 point. Verizon gets 2 points, and AT&T and Sprint each get 1 point.
So, add that all up and…
Verizon – 15 points
AT&T – 13 points
Sprint – 12 points
Looks like I know which carrier I’m supposed to go with.
In order to do this, however, we must start by acknowledging that different people want different things out of their phone. Some people travel internationally a great deal; some stay stateside almost all of the time. Some people are counting pennies; some people are rolling in cash. So before we go any further, let’s identify a few categories that all carriers can be judged by.
Network quality – Some call this “coverage,” others “speed,” but it’s all basically the same–will your calls and texts and browsing get through?
Plan costs – How much will you be paying each month? Is one carrier considerably cheaper than another? And remember–this category has more to do with data costs these days than it does with voice minutes.
International roaming costs – All iPhone 4S’s are world phones, so they can function in most places on the globe. But are you locked in to your carrier’s international calling plan if you leave the country, or can you swap SIM cards and use a local provider for far less?
Browsing while talking – Only AT&T’s network lets you use a Web browser and Internet-enabled apps at the same time you are talking to someone on the phone. On a Verizon or Sprint phone, you have to hang up your call to go on the Internet.
Not all these factors are equal — and they’re certainly not valued the same way by every user. Network quality seems fairly important to everyone, but international costs? If you do care about that, then you care a lot.
That being the case, let’s rank their importance as best we can, giving each a value from 4 points (most important) to 1 (least important). For example, here’s how my needs stack up:
Ranking Values
Network Quality: 4 (I want my phone to work.)
Browsing while talking: 3 (It’s not huge, but I like it.)
Plan costs: 2 (The difference in plan prices is between $5 and $10 for me.)
International costs: 1 (I am rarely out of the country.)
Your mileage may vary, but you can do the same ranking/points list.
Now, let’s shift gears slightly. While everyone’s going to prioritize differently, there are some things we do know for sure:
Verizon has a better network than AT&T or Sprint. (You may disagree.)
Sprint has the cheapest plans.
Only AT&T lets you browse and talk at the same time.
Only Verizon lets you use local SIM cards when abroad.
So, we can give points to this as well, with the higher point value going to the company with the better/most consumer-friendly attribute. There are three players, but in all cases, there’s always a tie between two of them, so I’ve limited the points field to 2 points:
Attribute Values
Network Quality: Verizon 2, AT&T 1, Sprint 1
Plan costs: Sprint 2, Verizon 1, AT&T 1
Browse and talk: AT&T 2, Verizon 1, Sprint 1
International costs: Verizon 2, AT&T 1, Sprint 1
Now, I’m no Nate Silver, but if you take your ranking values and multiply them by the attribute values, you get a rough idea of which carrier is better at the things which are important to you. Again, I’ll use my preferences as an example:
Network quality was my most important thing, at 4 points. That means that Verizon gets 8 points (ranking value of 4 points times attribute value of 2), while AT&T and Sprint each get 4 points.
Browsing while talking was my second-most important thing, at 3 points. That means that AT&T gets 6 points for that, while Verizon and Sprint get 3 each.
Plan costs was my third-most important thing, at 2 points. That means that Sprint gets 4 points for that, while Verizon and AT&T get 2 each.
International costs was last, at 1 point. Verizon gets 2 points, and AT&T and Sprint each get 1 point.
So, add that all up and…
Verizon – 15 points
AT&T – 13 points
Sprint – 12 points
Looks like I know which carrier I’m supposed to go with.
