Network Coverage:  

At this writing, Sprint’s Mobile Broadband coverage was the most extensive in the United States. That is not to say, however, that it works everywhere. As with any other provider, what ultimately matters is if you’re covered where you are. We recommend referring to Sprint’s Coverage Tool for details for any particular location. Be sure to select the Data, Email and Multimedia option because that won’t be quite the same as voice coverage.

While Sprint excels in U.S. coverage, for all intents and purposes, it’s non-existent outside the U.S. There is no international data plan; nonetheless, in some locations you may be able to make a connection. Check with Sprint’s Data Coverage and Rates page for details. But beware of the price if you choose this option. In most locations the cost is $0.016/KB which equals $16.38/MB and an astounding $16,777.21/GB.

Data Network Reliability:  

Only Verizon Wireless surpasses Sprint for network reliability. And that’s by a pretty narrow margin. In short, you can count on Sprints data network to work with very few exceptions.

Help/Support:  

There’s been a lot of good news in this review of Sprint’s Mobile Broadband service. The going gets a little tougher here. We’re not saying that Sprint’s customer service is bad, but it clearly comes up short compared to the other providers. T-Mobile has the inside track on quality customer service with both Verizon Wireless and Alltel making strong showings. Sprint consistently brings up the rear with overall customer scores consistently well below industry averages in surveys by both J.D. Power and Associates and Consumer Reports. Our own anecdotal tests were no exception.

Sprint has one of the best Mobile Broadband services available; however, in a highly competitive industry, there’s simply no excuse for not providing great customer service. They still have some work ahead of them in this area.