Tech-Friendly: ‘Verizon Wireless named best in Rockford’ — beware the PR machine

By Paul Gorski

I was recently forwarded an e-mail: “Verizon Wireless named best in Rockford, and opens new cell sites,” which contained a link to a local smartphone study. You might even find a copy of the “news” online here at The Rock River Times. Beware the PR (public relations) machine!

The embedded link sent me to a Root Metrics (http://rootmetrics.com/compare-carriers/united-states/rockford/rockford-il-september-2013/) smartphone study. The study gives a marginal lead to Verizon Wireless over AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile in Rockford. However, the study completely neglects a major Rockford carrier, US Cellular.

A description of the survey methods is posted at: http://rootmetrics.com/compare-carriers/united-states/rockford/rockford-il-september-2013/#methodology. There, I found a major flaw in the test methodology: different phones were used for the different carriers. Samsung Android-based phones were used to test the AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile networks, whereas an HTC Droid DNA was used to test the Verizon network...

Read the entire article on The Rock River Times website: http://rockrivertimes.com/2013/09/11/tech-friendly-%E2%80%98verizon-wireless-named-best-in-rockford%E2%80%99-%E2%80%94-beware-the-pr-machine/