AT&T vs Spectrum Mobile: Who Should You Go With?

There comes a time in any phone user's life where they need to switch carriers, whether it be because of the price, benefits, or you’re moving and the coverage you currently have isn’t available to your standards at your new home. There’s a million factors that can come into play but the most important thing is figuring out what new wireless home you’re going to move into. With so many choices out there you’re bound to compare a few companies together and today we’re specifically here to talk about AT&T and Spectrum Mobile.

AT&T is one of the “big three” in wireless alongside Verizon and T-Mobile. With millions of customers they are a big draw to many with their heavy-duty data plans and widespread coverage. But maybe you’re looking for something a little more budget-friendly and versatile. That’s where the MVNO Spectrum Mobile comes in. They are on the other side of the coin and might be your new hidden gem.

So let’s discuss AT&T vs Spectrum Mobile and go through everything you need to know so you can sign up with no stress.

• Quick Overview: AT&T and Spectrum Mobile
• What the Coverage Looks Like from Both Providers
• How the Plans Compare: From Price to Features
• The Verdict

Quick Overview: AT&T and Spectrum Mobile

Before we take a look at what the coverage and phone plans look like from each provider, let’s first talk a bit about the two carriers separately as companies so you can get a general idea of what to expect as you begin to make your decision.

-> AT&T

As we mentioned in the intro AT&T is one of the “big three” in wireless alongside Verizon and T-Mobile and what that means is they are one of the few carriers that own their own infrastructure all over the country and other regions. AT&T has been around for a while, getting their start in the 80s, this company has kept up with the mobile demand with their impressive data benefits. In fact many knowers will look to AT&T’s AT&T Unlimited Premium® PL which is one of the only phone plans in the market that actually has unlimited data. It never slows down, no matter how much you use it. And for those who are rarely connected to wifi, this plan probably sounds super intriguing.

A REALLY Helpful Tip

Why does our data slow down? Why isn’t it actually “unlimited”?

Just like eating too much cake can lead to an upset stomach, using too much data can lead to an upset stomach, just from the network’s. There is only so much data the bandwidth of the network can actually handle so there needs to be limits on high-speed usage from millions of cell phones so the network can work properly. 

The way this is properly handled is with data throttling. Throttling is “the dramatic slowing of your data speeds to the point that it becomes almost unusable,” and this will happen when a person goes over their data allotment number for the month. Usually you’ll find this number listed in the plan’s information or in fine print at the bottom of the carrier’s website. 

AT&T also has a few international perks that come with each plan which can be very useful for the frequent flier, (see more in when we cover each provider’s cell plans later).

-> Spectrum Mobile

Spectrum Mobile is a MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) under the Verizon umbrella. But what does that mean? Well, MVNOs describe smaller wireless providers that don’t in fact own their own infrastructure/cell towers but instead will piggyback signal off of anothers- in Spectrum’s case it’s Verizon. Customers who sign up for a Spectrum Mobile plan will be on Verizon’s widespread network, and we know from the countless commercials that Verizon is a direct competitor of AT&T, so this definitely makes comparing the two carriers interesting. 

However, the big catch of Spectrum Mobile is that you have to have Spectrum Home Internet, which you might not have or might not be interested in getting. The bundle deal for the home internet and mobile plan is pretty great, so even if you have your reservations it’s good to keep an open mind as we take a look at their plans later on.

Spectrum Mobile keeps things simple, they don’t have a million plans to choose between, in fact they only have two, so if you’re a fan of simple, Spectrum deserves a check in that column. 

Now that we have a bit of insight into the two carriers it’s time to look at their respective coverage maps…

What the Coverage Looks Like from Both Providers

-> AT&T

Since AT&T is one of the big three, there are a lot of reports online about the level of coverage AT&T offers. In comparing AT&T with its other two major competitors, Verizon and T-Mobile, they sit comfortably right in the middle of the two in terms of coverage. Verizon has the best overall 4G LTE coverage while T-Mobile is winning the race for 5G capable phones. As for AT&T they have better 4G LTE coverage than T-Mobile, but not as good coverage for 5G. Overall we’d say that you’d be pretty happy with the coverage AT&T has to offer if you live in an area that’s covered by what you need. 

What we mean by that is when you’re looking at the coverage map of any wireless provider, you’ll be able to see what type of signal is covered, i.e. 5G, 4G LTE, etc, and any dead zones near you. So if you have a 5G capable phone and want to utilize AT&T’s 5G coverage, make sure you type in your address and frequently visited locations to see if 5G is available in your area.

AT&T’s Coverage Map looks like this:

As you can see they cover a majority of the country along with parts of Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. To get an in-depth look at their coverage map click here.

-> Spectrum Mobile

Now let’s move onto Spectrum Mobile’s coverage. Already we know they are under the Verizon umbrella and that Verizon has the country’s best 4G LTE coverage available. And although T-Mobile wins outright in best overall coverage for 5G, Verizon wins in the “Games Experience and 5G Voice App Experience — it also wins the third experiential metric, 5G Video Experience.” Verizon is known to have pretty good signal reliability which is nice as MVNOs can be a hit or miss when it comes to dropped signals as they run the risk of data deprioritization- more on that later.

Visually you can see Spectrum doesn’t cover the ground AT&T has at a first glance, that’s to be expected from any MVNO, but they do offer coverage in Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands which you might not get from other MVNOs. Spectrum Mobile also makes it clear where 5G and 4G LTE is available without you having to dig for it, so if you have a 5G phone or are in the market to get one and having a 5G signal is important, remember to check your home and frequently visited locations to make sure you’re covered.

You can view Spectrum Mobile’s full Coverage Map here.

How the Plans Compare: From Price to Features

We’ve talked about the companies as a whole and looked at their coverage, now it’s the time to compare the phone plans. First up we’re going to be discussing AT&T’s postpaid plans starting first with their three most popular and then working our way across the board:

And then they have two “value-friendly” plans to look at:

It’s important to note that the prices we’ve listed aren’t the finalized prices of each plan. These prices don’t include taxes and fees and are only if you sign up for AutoPay, so keep that as a footnote as you look further into AT&T’s phone plans.

Each postpaid AT&T plan comes with their AT&T ActiveArmor^SM app which can help keep your online presences away from unwanted prying eyes and less annoying spam calls throughout the day. International benefits with Canada and Mexico along select countries is nice, but nothing too too flashy from AT&T.

Now let’s discuss Spectrum Mobile’s two plan types, “Unlimited Data Plans” and “By The Gig.” One gives you unlimited data while the other is a more “pay as you need it” phone plan. Let’s first go over their Unlimited Data Plans:

Already from a quick glance you can see that Spectrum Mobile has a lot less on their plans compared to AT&T- but that might be exactly what you need! And speaking of simple, here is their “By the Gig” plan:

For those who never ever use data, the “By the Gig” is your way to go- but honestly $19 for one gig is a bit overpriced. 

We teased talking about data deprioritization earlier and the time has come to discuss as Spectrum Mobile plainly outlines their deprioritization rules on their plans:

• For BY THE GIG: “After 5 GB/line of data usage speeds reduced to 256 Kbps up/down & data de-prioritized.”
• For UNLIMITED: “After 30 GB/line of data usage speeds reduced to 1 Mbps down/512 Kbps up & data de-prioritized.”
• For UNLIMITED PLUS: “After 50 GB/line of data usage speeds reduced to 1 Mbps down/512 Kbps up & data de-prioritized.”

Data deprioritization refers to the “temporary slowing of data speeds in times of network congestion and high traffic areas” in order to give priority to direct customers of Verizon. 

As for their threshold being 30GB and 50GB respectively, well that’s not too bad considering the average phone user will end up using 20-25GB a month.

Listed under “Spectrum Mobile Service Broadband Disclosures” are their speeds:

• 5G Network - Typical download speeds will range from 5-450 Mbps, with peak speeds of nearly 1 Gbps in select locations, and upload speeds for 5G range from 2-50 Mbps. 
• 4G LTE Network - Typical download speeds of 5-12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2-5 Mbps.

If you sign up for a MVNO you’re bound to notice some dips in speed every once in a while.

The Verdict

We’ve compared the coverage, prices, and perks of each phone plan and the time has come to decide which is better: AT&T or Spectrum Mobile. In this case we’d have to go for AT&T, simply because of the number of postpaid and prepaid plans they have along with the biggest deciding factor: not having to have their Home Internet in order to sign up for their mobile plans. With Spectrum you have to have their Home Internet in order to have their wireless service and that’s not something everyone can just have happen at the drop of a hat. Plus with only three plans to choose from, there aren’t enough options to confidently choose Spectrum Mobile as the winner.

Still shopping around? Don’t go far because we’ve got the tool for you! If you want to compare and contrast AT&T and Hello Mobile to over 1,200 other phone plans so you know you’re getting the service that’s right for you, then make sure to check out the REALLY compare page which allows you to look at pricing, coverage, what phone plans are available, current deals and steals, and how you can make the most of your potential phone bill.