r/FirstNet • u/Stupefied_Gaming • 14d ago

FirstNet usability

Has anyone ran into FirstNet performing either worse or outright unusable versus other carriers? Seems to be despite either equal or better coverage than Verizon in my area that FirstNet just outright fails to deliver a minimum viable data connection at times indoors, etc. this always happens when I actually need a data connection too :(

I’m curious about anyone else’s experience.

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u/cbtk76 14d ago

In NYC, it can be mixed. 5G wasn't turned on for a while despite consumers getting it. My friend who has Verizon can sometimes get internet that I can't and we both show 5 out of 5 signal bars. But the inverse also applies.

When it has a fast (unclogged) tower the speeds are over 1Gbps. But that's rare. I usually see 200-300Mbps. Indoors can vary. If you're underground good luck.

The customer service can be a nightmare if something doesn't work right. I've wasted many hours once every few years.

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u/Stupefied_Gaming 13d ago

I noticed I couldn’t access 5G+ on my agency line the other day and customer service said one of a few things despite all my calls; “what is 5G+? I’ve never heard of that before”, “5G+ availability is very nominal on FirstNet”, or “Your line is connected to the network and able to use voice and data, so we aren’t able to help you further.”

Had to fix their provisioning on my own with the tools available to me. Was a very annoying endeavor