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Who's fastest: Verizon vs AT&T vs T-Mobile vs Sprint speed and reliability report

By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Aug 04, 2016, 8:50 AM

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Who's fastest: Verizon vs AT&T vs T-Mobile vs Sprint speed and reliability report

Gather around, carrier fandom, we've got the latest metrics on speed, reliability, latency and 3G fallback for the big four US networks, courtesy of the OpenSignal methodology. This report has become a staple in navigating through the maze of carrier claims for coverage and download speed, and there are no drastic reshuffles since the report that came out in February.

Verizon is still slightly ahead of T-Mobile when it comes down to LTE network reliability, while AT&T fell down to third place now. On the LTE speeds front, the two network performers swap places, and T-Mobile scores a tad quicker download speeds than Verizon on average. When it comes to 3G speeds, however, T-Mobile beats by a mile, both in speed and in latency, so even if you aren't covered by its LTE network, there would still be nice speeds to fall back on.

Sprint excelled in only one category, as it has the lowest 4G latency of them all, but it's AT&T that showed the most mediocre results, not earning a star in any of the supplied metrics. When it comes to actual coverage, that's a different story, but as for quality of the big four networks, T-Mobile and Verizon take the cake again.

Verizon vs AT&T vs T-Mobile vs Sprint networks speed and reliability H1 2016

source: OpenSignal

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena from 2010 to 2025, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.