(Asking this on behalf of my mum as I don't know the answer myself)

Currently, my mum has an iPhone 4s with at&t. There are times where she gets only 3 bars when she is in Midtown as well as where she lives in Queens. She is thinking of getting a new smartphone with LTE. She is considering the jump from at&t to Verizon if it would be much reliable. The good thing is, they gave her about 2-3 months credit so she didn't have to pay her bills for that time frame which is quite nice.

For those in NYC and have either at&t or Verizon, or both, should she stick with at&t or make the jump to Verizon?

I know in LA that Verizon wins as I have tried at&t over there and the service was just crap. Not to sure about NYC though as I constantly hear that they are neck and neck.

Also, I've read that At&t's LTE is faster than Verizon's. I'm not sure though if that should be a major concern.

Just to add that she doesn't talk and surf simultaneously so that's out of the way.