Are you tired of seeing the same general conclusions, results and title holders on the same aspects of mobile network experience in the same reports conducted by the same independent analytics companies every three or six months? If the answer is a resounding yes, then take special note of the latest 5G tests conducted by RootMetrics across 245,000 miles and 6,653 indoor locations in the United States. While these may sound very similar to the approximately 2.3 million tests conducted by the same company in the 125 most populous urban markets in the United States in late 2023, the addition of significant rural regions to the research methodology fundamentally changes the findings and overall 5G award winners.
Verizon: 2 gold medals, T-Mobile: 1 gold medal, AT&T: 0 gold medals
Well folks, at least in the eyes of analysts at RootMetrics, it looks like the U.S. has a new 5G champion. As if T-Mobile didn’t have enough trouble dealing with customer complaints on about 100 different topics recently, this “non-carrier” also has to find a way to reclaim the coveted “Best 5G Experience” title from its biggest rival, Verizon.
Under the previous methodology, Magenta would have won trophies in both the 5G availability and 5G speed categories for both the first and second half of 2023. But now, Big Red is tops in the 5G speed department, while T-Mo has to content itself with retaining the 5G availability title.
Verizon is the new US 5G champion, with T-Mobile in second place and AT&T in last place.
Meanwhile, the 5G reliability award once again went to Verizon’s trophy room, which means some things stay the same, and that AT&T is too far behind its rivals in every aspect of 5G, both urban and rural, to take a chance and add one to the win column, regardless of methodology. To be clear, Verizon’s 5G speed win was not the result of any technological advancements, personal achievements, or massive expansions that the operator has enabled over the past year or so. Similarly, T-Mobile’s loss did not come about because they did something (particularly) wrong (technically) as they tried to consolidate the early lead that has been highlighted in various reports since the arrival of 5G in the US.
Rather, what’s happening here is that 5G networks are nearing rollout across the U.S., and while Magenta’s urban speed advantage isn’t likely to be overturned anytime soon, Verizon’s rural advantage is large enough to offset it and propel Big Red into the overall leadership position. This is clearly a problem T-Mo has been working to solve for quite some time, but it’s unclear when (or if) it will be solved.
Verizon’s 5G availability seems to be a bigger issue than T-Mobile’s 5G speeds
Verizon is clearly the big winner in the latest US 5G landscape contest, but when you look at the numbers compiled by RootMetrics for the first six months of 2024, it’s hard not to notice that the Big Red is at a major disadvantage compared to both T-Mobile and AT&T in the 5G availability department. Simply put, Verizon’s score of 65.5 in that category is embarrassing, and one can’t help but wonder if perhaps it should have been better reflected in the operator’s overall 5G rating. After all, what good is a super-fast, super-reliable 5G signal if so many users in (presumably) so many places can’t get that signal on a regular basis?
The three U.S. carriers have important strengths and weaknesses in all three 5G categories.
Similarly, it’s important to highlight that T-Mobile and AT&T are much closer to Verizon in the 5G speed and 5G reliability battles than Verizon is to T-Mobile (and for that matter AT&T) in the 5G availability battles. While this isn’t enough of a reason to challenge Big Red for an overall 5G win today, T-Mobile (and for that matter AT&T) can undoubtedly use that significant advantage, combined with advances in 5G speed and 5G reliability, to give them a shot at the gold in six months’ time.
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A mobile technology enthusiast since the days of the Nokia 3310, Adrian has been a dynamic presence in technology journalism, having contributed to Android Authority, Digital Trends and Pocketnow prior to joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans multiple platforms, with a particular interest in the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Juggling full-time parenthood with work can be challenging, but his passion for tech trends, running and movies keeps him going. His obsession with mid-range smartphones has led to a diverse collection of devices, and his preference for “good enough” over “too expensive” has kept him from going bankrupt.
