Which Project Fi Coverage Map Is Correct?

[clairez1]

Which Project Fi Coverage Map Is Correct?
When I check a location with the Project Fi coverage map, it indicates 3G service. When I check the same location with the TMobile coverage map, it indicates 4G LTE. It appears that the TMobile coverage is newer and provides much better service, 4G/4G LTE. Has anyone else noticed this difference?

Here is one example, but I have found many more:
Williams, AZ 86046
https://fi.google.com/coverage (3G)
T-Mobile’s 4G Network | Check Your Coverage | T-Mobile Blazing Fast 4G Coverage (4G LTE)

So does this mean Project Fi customers will get degraded TMobile service? Maybe being an MVNO, Project Fi does not get access to the best service offered through TMobile and Sprint networks. Or, maybe the Project Fi coverage map has not been updated.

In my location, based upon the current coverage maps, I could get 4G LTE (but at a higher cost, $40 vs. $30) or 3G with Project Fi. Then the decision comes down to faster service vs. lower cost.

Anyone else thinking along these same lines?

 

[mhettrich]

It's certainly possible that one of the maps is incorrect. To be quite honest, I've never found coverage maps to be a very accurate representation of the service a carrier provides. There's no substitute for testing a service in real life.

 

[clairez1]

It's certainly possible that one of the maps is incorrect. To be quite honest, I've never found coverage maps to be a very accurate representation of the service a carrier provides. There's no substitute for testing a service in real life.

My feeling as well, I simply do no trust the carrier's claims about anything, but especially coverage maps. That said, T-Mobile must have been listening, they recently introduced "Verified Coverage" to their maps. It is defined as:


See the hexagons !


Which increases my confidence "a little" in T-Mobile's coverage map!

Sprint's map shows the following:


Project Fi's map:


So, which to believe: Project Fi (3G), Sprint (3G) or T-Mobile (4G LTE)? Makes me start to suspect that Project Fi, being an MVNO, will not receive the best service from their partners Sprint and T-Mobile. It would seem that Sprint and T-Mobile would want to provide their best service to their own exclusive customers. If this was not the case then Sprint and T-Mobile could expect to lose customers to Google Project Fi.

Bottom line, some real testing, with actual Project Fi subscribers will reveal the truth.

Thanks for reading ...

 

[sictheangel]

My guess is that that they're all correct, but Fi is displaying Sprint's coverage because it might be unaware of T-Mobile's. However, the premise of Fi is that it connects to the faster, stronger signal whenever there is one, so if T-Mobile's is accurate at all, and Fi works like it's supposed to, then you'll get 4G LTE regardless of what Fi's map says.

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