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All three major US carrier networks experienced a drop in their median download speeds in this past quarter compared to the first three months of the year. This could mean that the speed battles from the 4G-to-5G transition have peaked and carriers are now focused on capacity building and coverage, or that the networks are more congested.
T-Mobile is the fastest US carrier in Q2
We'll need a few more quarters of data to determine if T-Mobile, AT&T, or Verizon have indeed plateaued when it comes to network speeds, though. According to Ookla, the company behind Speedtest, in the April-June quarter, T-Mobile had the fastest carrier network in the US with a median download speed of 164.76 Mbps and the caveat that those speeds are only achievable on "modern chipsets."
T-Mobile vs Verizon vs AT&T Q2 speed tests
Which phones offer the fastest 5G download speeds?
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The "modern chipset," aka the X70 5G mode, of the custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy in Samsung's Galaxy S23 Ultra offered the fastest 5G download speeds of 147 Mbps, followed by another Samsung flagship, the foldable Galaxy Z Fold 4.
Surprisingly, despite using a Samsung Exynos-based 5G modem, and a Tensor 2 chipset that has been shown to lag behind its flagship peers in terms of pure speed, the Google Pixel 7 Pro managed to come third among the phones sold in the US that will ensure their owners can connect to local 5G networks with the very quick 130 Mbps median download speeds.
Phones with the fastest download speeds sold in the US
Overall, the Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile 5G network speeds showed a decline
T-Mobile notched slower median download speeds in the June quarter, compared to the 165.22 Mbps median speeds it managed to clock in the March quarter. It's not just the uncarrier, though, as Verizon Wireless and AT&T also witnessed a median speed drop, though their numbers are far slower than T-Mobile's to begin with.
They, however, offer better coverage thanks to their expansive 4G LTE networks, while T-Mobile's median speeds benefit from its early rollout on the mid-bands that it scored during the merger with Sprint.
T-Mobile, however, also won in the other categories like latency, 5G service consistency, as well as video streaming performance, followed most often by Verizon, while both were trailed by AT&T.
T-Mobile also offered the best network consistency among its peers in Q2
Fastest fixed broadband Internet speeds in Q2 and lowest latency
Spectrum beat Cox as the fastest fixed broadband provider with a median download speed of 243.02 Mbps.
Verizon had the lowest median latency on fixed broadband of 15 ms.
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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, 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.
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