The network rivalry between T-Mobile and Verizon is alive and well, as evidenced by the latest Opensignal reports on 5G experience and coverage.
Verizon beat T-Mobile in the 5G upload speed category with a score of 18.5 Mbps, breaking T-Mobile’s streak of seven consecutive wins, according to Opensignal. T-Mobile's score was 18.2 Mbps.
AT&T lagged behind the other two with a score of 12.1 Mbps; T-Mobile and Verizon users’ average 5G upload speeds are 50% and 52.1% faster, respectively.
It was a familiar pattern in other categories as well, where AT&T was behind the others. In the 5G live video experience department, Verizon won with a score of 52.9 points on a 100-point scale, while T-Mobile took second place with a score of 50.3 points. AT&T scored 44.1 points.
Verizon also claimed the top spot in the on-demand streaming, 5G games experience and 5G voice app experience categories.
There’s at least one bright spot for AT&T. In Opensignal’s Mobile Network Experience report, AT&T claimed a win for overall availability, with a score of 99.4%. That beat Verizon’s score by 0.2 percentage points. T-Mobile came in third with a score of 98.3%, but it saw the highest improvement (by 0.3 percentage points) in its score out of all U.S. operators.
T-Mobile 5G domination
T-Mobile held onto its lead over AT&T and Verizon in the category of 5G availability, where its score rose another 8.2 percentage points for an overall score of 57.9. That’s 2.8 times more than the time Opensignal’s AT&T 5G users spend on 5G and nearly six times more than Verizon users.
Opensignal defines “5G availability” as a reflection of the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device have a 5G connection. It’s not designed as a measure of coverage or the geographic extent of a network, although T-Mobile certainly continues to lead the other two in 5G coverage even as they expand their C-band deployments.
Opensignal also said that Verizon won the most state 5G awards, but T-Mobile remained top in 5G download speed and 5G availability across states. In fact, the majority of T-Mobile’s outright 5G state wins were for 5G download speed and in 5G availability, where it achieved a clean sweep, the research firm said.
Data for this report was collected between mid-March through mid-June. Opensignal previously has said seasonality can play a role its results. Because people tend to be outside during the warmer summer months, that may play a role in the firm’s report covering the current period.
Incidentally – and probably purely coincidentally as opposed to some kind of lobbying tactic – T-Mobile 5G users in the District of Columbia enjoy the fastest 5G download speeds and connect to 5G services for the highest proportion of time in the U.S., according to Opensignal.