The News: The newest numbers from Ookla’s crowdsourced Speedtest are in, and in Q4 T-Mobile 5G was again the fastest carrier with a median download speed of 151.37 Mbps. Not only was T-Mobile 5G the fastest U.S. wireless carrier in terms of downloads, it also had the quickest upload speeds, at 12.53 Mbps during Q4 2022, followed by Verizon and AT&T. Opensignal’s analysis of users’ 5G experience yielded the same result. Read more from Fierce Wireless.
T-Mobile Dominates the Competition — Again — in 5G Speed and Availability
Analyst Take: T-Mobile 5G continues to dominate the competition, outperforming all wireless carriers in nationwide speed tests and network availability evaluations conducted by the top analytics firms, Opensignal and Ookla. T-Mobile 5G improved its score from 150 Mbps early last year to 186.3 Mbps. For the seventh consecutive time, T-Mobile 5G wins the 5G Download Speed and 5G Upload Speed Opensignal awards, outperforming AT&T and Verizon.
Opensignal analyzed users’ 5G experience in the U.S. on each of the three national carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon over a period of 90 days starting on September 16, 2022 and ending on December 14, 2022. Opensignal found that T-Mobile 5G users enjoyed an average 5G download speed clocking in at 186.3Mbps — more than 100Mbps faster than the speeds AT&T and Verizon’s users experience. T-Mobile is also the sole winner of Opensignal’s 5G Upload Speed award, with a score of 17.9Mbps. This is significant for YouTubers and video content creators in general, all of whom are also better served (statistically speaking) by T-Mobile than Verizon and AT&T.
Opensignal researchers determined that T-Mobile 5G beat AT&T and Verizon in overall consistency, video, gaming, voice app, 5G availability, and 5G reach. What’s perhaps more important to mention is
T-Mobile 5G’s huge lead in both 5G availability and 5G reach, which should translate in a much higher real-life likelihood of obtaining (and retaining for a longer period of time) a high-speed cellular signal in most parts of the US right now.
Wrapping up, T-Mobile 5G is winning the 5G speed race, regularly and soundly outperforming AT&T and Verizon in terms of download and upload speeds and 5G network availability. And as we likely all agree, speed and availability are more important than ever for consumers, particularly YouTubers and video content creators. I expect that T-Mobile 5G will continue to increase its speed and availability; will the others catch up at some point? We’ll see.
Disclosure: Futurum Research is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum Research as a whole.
Other insights from Futurum Research:
5G Factor Video Research Note: T-Mobile Out Runs and Guns the Competition
T-Mobile and Cisco Show Why a Distributed Nationwide Cloud Native 5G Core Gateway is Sexy
T-Mobile Enlists Key 5G Partners to Take 5G Private Wireless to the Next Level with 5G ANS
Image Credit: ConnectedReMag
Author Information
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years' experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging development, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly's coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”
