It really depends on your location. I lived in Dallas, TX for 3 years & it worked just fine for me. I use my smartphone more as a portable computer than for voice, & to me data speeds matter more.
AT&T edged out VZ in data throughput. I also happen to be grandfathered in an unlimited* plan. I won't give that up for a marginal improvement in voice quality.
As a fun anecdote: Try driving by the AT&T building in Farmers Branch while on a call. As of about a year and a half ago (I've switched to Sprint), it would drop my call right as I drove by the building. Always made me chuckle.
To your point, it's really dependent on where you are. AT&T in Dallas works better than Verizon. Sprint is more reliable than AT&T, but the data throughput isn't as good.
The article only says what was said last year, the year before that..... And there are no solutions other than
"Don't buy a phone on contract with AT&T. Or better yet, don't do business with AT&T."
How many of us (in the US) didn't know that?