BY BRIANNA HARRISON

There has always been a debate about which phone carrier is the best to have. The more popular phone carriers are Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. On the other hand, the least popular are Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and MetroPCS. They all claim to have the best 4G LTE, but which one is actually the most reliable?

Verizon Wireless ranks number one amongst the other phone carriers in the United States. Verizon has reliable network coverage and quick 4G LTE. The only downside about Verizon is that it may be a bit pricey. For each phone, it would be about $40, and that is not including data. For an individual, it is good to pay $60 for 2GB and unlimited talk and text. However, if you are going to share data with your family, it is good to get 10GB for $100. Verizon also has a program called Verizon Edge which is like the other carriers which allows you to switch phones whenever you want.

“I like Verizon because it’s fast and efficient. I have a good connection everywhere I go,” senior Matthew Hanamaikai said.

AT&T is typically second when it comes to phone carriers. The reason being is that its network is not as strong as Verizon’s. The pricing is pretty much the same except that it is $40 for 2GB. One of the main advantages AT&T has over Verizon is rollover minutes. Overall, this phone carrier is pretty much the same.

“I like AT&T because it has fast internet; it has good family plans. You’re able to share a lot of data. They also have good insurance coverage,” senior Oscar Herrera said.

Sprint is much cheaper when it comes to the pricing for data. For instance, it is only $25 for 2GB while other phone carriers are $50 or $60. For T-Mobile, you are paying for the amount of 4G LTE data you want. Once you go over, T-Mobile will slow down your speeds. You will also be paying $45 for 2GB of 4G LTE data and unlimited talk and text. The benefit of these two is that they are the only phone carriers that offer unlimited data.

“I don’t like Sprint because it’s really slow and it’s a pain to use. I also don’t like the new phone payment plan,” junior Scott Macias said.

I, however, prefer Verizon. I’ve never had issues such as calls being dropped or having slow data. I also don’t recall having to ask my friends to borrow their phone just so I could use faster 4G LTE. AT&T works just as fine, and T-Mobile is only good as long as you don’t go over your data usage. Although Sprint is cheaper, it’s not as great. My friend and I looked up the same website on our iPhones and hers took about 10 or more seconds while mine only took a few seconds.

When choosing a phone carrier in the future, make sure to pay attention to coverage, pricing, and plan features. It honestly doesn’t matter what smartphone you get, as long as you have fast 4G LTE.