iPhones, iPods, and iPads forum: should i go verizon or att for the new iphone5?

Understand, Chicagoland is huge- I'm there too . Coverage can vary from block to block, so that will have to be trial and error on your part. In some places the indoor coverage won't be as good from one carrier or another based on the construction materials of a particular residence/workplace. That has nothing to do with the carrier unfortunately.

Even being on the opposite side of a tall condo bldg/skyscraper might mean you pick one carrier over another because you face the correct cell site. YMMV.

Best way is to find out what service your friend's/neighbors have, just to get a sense of coverage you need. ATT & Verizon will have very similar pricing when you get down to the brass tacks.

Schaumburg, Il. is home to what was a major cell phone designer and maker. I worked for them long ago and at the time when the cellular system was just going digital. The writing was on the wall when their current leader forbid any work on digital cellular. They had customers with some billions of dollars invested in old analog systems and the politics on this was amazing. The story played out just as expected.

But if I was to expect good coverage, it would be in that area. But I'm comparing this to say Podukola, Wi.

Beyond that I would not rush to the 5. The deal is a year later.
Bob

you currently have T-Mobile for a reason (it does the job for you for much cheaper price). At least that coupled with the service coverage. That's why i use it in Atlanta.
Good news is: T-Mobile will have iPhone 5 on their network as well. yup, finally!

The IPhone5 is capable of surfing the Internet and talking on the phone simultaneously. AT&T is the only carrier that you can use this capability. Beyond that, AT&T seems to have the best 4G coverage the phone uses.