T-Mobile destroys Verizon's 5G network claims by sliding in its coverage DMs

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T-Mobile's flamboyant CEO John Legere may be out, but his troll marketing strategy has changed little, as you can see in this Verizon 5G network claims counter-ad above that it just sent us. It deals with the newly-minted "nationwide" 5G network claims by Big Red that we discovered has backfired in an unexpected way.

T-Mobile boasts the widest "5G availability," Verizon brags with the fastest "nationwide" 5G, all the while AT&T kept reaping median download speed awards throughout the year, what gives? If you are confused about the state of US carriers' 5G networks, you are not alone. 

They have employed a dizzying array of 5G bands for their base stations, and commenced the rollout from completely opposite approaches that prioritize different features. This is precisely what led the exasperated OnePlus to the following quip when detailing its budget Nord phone features:



Add glitzy ads, claims and counter-claims, and rebuttals, and one would think that we are never going to get some order in the 5G chaos. Enter T-Mobile which, in the form of Verizon rebuttal (what else), puts the 5G network claims in perspective. Needless to say, these claims will soon be followed by Verizon's counter-points, but still, here's the scoop.

T-Mobile vs Verizon 5G network speeds


Тhis one used to be easy - Verizon had the fastest 5G network by a large margin. Digging deeper, however, and taking into account the median instead of peak download speeds on "5G-ready" devices across the big US networks, it was sometimes AT&T that took the cake in various independent tests when it came to combined 4G/5G speeds

Verizon, however, used the iPhone 12 launch to announce "nationwide" 5G service, seemingly removing the main argument against its 5G network - its minuscule coverage. According to T-Mobile, however:


As a result, though, the median download speeds of Verizon's 5G network fell precipitously, as we reported earlier. T-Mobile got a whiff of the new 5G network speed tests, and immediately came up with the following graph:


Granted, Verizon's move made it boast 5G footprint over 200 million people, a way larger pool than before, yet T-Mobile now claims 270 million people covered by its 5G layer cake, with average speeds that can expand faster, not to mention its advantage in upload speeds:


Needless to say, Verizon's combined 4G LTE/5G network is fast enough, and, more importantly, has the largest overall footprint, but it seems that T-Mobile may have futureproofed its 5G strategy a bit better. We'll see how the 5G network developments will pan out next year, though, when both Verizon and AT&T are expected to grab and deploy lower bands; needless to say, T-Mobile won't sit still either

Maybe that is why Apple decided to equip its first 5G iPhone 12 model with a record number of bands, including some that are yet to be auctioned and won, in order to hedge its bets in the "made in America" 5G casino.
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