I will disagree on both accounts. Now I'm sure if varies by location, but there are several unbiased business based surveys out there that prove that statement incorrect when basing an average across the country.
I'm not an AT&T hater, actually I could care less where anyone goes and gets service, it's their choice and their money. For me personally I choose VZW because I travel a great deal across my state and VZW covers more of it than any other carrier. I do not have a problem with call quality or 3g speeds virtually anywhere I go. True VZW tends to be a little higher priced, but in the grand scheme of things, you usually get what you pay for.
Back to topic, I will simply like it for world phone capabilities. Traveling abroad will be a little easier now, rather than having to switch my service over to my Blackberry everytime before I leave.