Verizon takes median download speed title during big game: Tutela

Verizon posted the fastest median download speed before Sunday’s Super Bowl, and it continued that trend throughout the event, according to Tutela, which kept a running tab on the situation.

Overall, Verizon had the fastest median download speed at 21 Mbps on Super Bowl Sunday for users in and around Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, the firm reported. AT&T provided the second fastest median download speed for users at 17 Mbps, followed by T-Mobile and Sprint with 16 Mbps and 14 Mbps, respectively. 

RELATED: Tutela tests carriers’ networks before, during Super Bowl

Download speed is only part of the story, however, so Tutela also calculated the upload speed and latency results for the game. For upload, T-Mobile was the fastest at 11 Mbps. Verizon had the lowest one-way latency at 30 milliseconds, and despite having the slowest download and upload speeds, Sprint had the second lowest latency result at 35 milliseconds.

Ookla Speedtest results showed Sprint’s network with the lowest 5G latency during the Super Bowl. Verizon beat both T-Mobile and Sprint in the mean download speed over 5G tests while coming in last for both mean upload speed over 5G and latency. T-Mobile showed the fastest mean upload speed over 5G, according to Speedtest.

RELATED: Verizon, T-Mobile ratchet network feud

Not all the action was on the field. The Super Bowl provided an opportunity for T-Mobile CEO John Legere to pen a “thank you” blog to Verizon saying that after years of ignoring T-Mobile, Verizon was finally spending big Super Bowl bucks to advertise against T-Mobile’s 5G network specifically.

Verizon’s ads featuring comedian Jenny Slate compared Verizon’s 4G LTE network to T-Mobile’s 5G in New York City, which led Legere to suggest Verizon is living in the past while the rest of the world moves to 5G. The ads showed Verizon's LTE performing faster than T-Mobile's 5G. 

Indeed, T-Mobile Technology Director Neville Ray has talked about how he wants to build a world-class 5G network with Sprint’s 2.5 GHz spectrum and be able to boast a network that is “literally kicking the ass out of AT&T and Verizon.”

Meanwhile, the world awaits Judge Victor Marrero’s decision regarding T-Mobile's planned acquisition of Sprint.