After all, the most entertaining part of any competition is celebrating the winner and either mocking the loser (if it's as obnoxious as the Argentina national football team) or at least lamenting its misfortune, which you can't really do when every competitor receives one or multiple trophies.
But that's where Ookla comes in today with yet another in-depth analysis of T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T's mobile network performance during the first six months of 2026 that looks vastly different from last week's RootMetrics study, clearly using other evaluation tools and metrics to award just one of the three carriers with the bulk of its top prizes.
There can only be one speed winner
... and it's unsurprisingly T-Mobile. After all, the "Un-carrier" held a comfortable advantage over its arch-rivals in both overall speeds and 5G speeds in the H2 2025 Speedtest Connectivity Report, and while Verizon and AT&T have managed to improve their scores in both categories since then, said improvements were nowhere near massive enough to threaten T-Mo's supremacy.
There's probably no catching up to T-Mobile anytime soon, but the fight for second place is super-tight and interesting. | Image by Ookla
Interestingly (and somewhat disappointingly), T-Mobile very lightly increased its own Speed Scores between the second half of last year and H1 2026, with its progress actually paling in comparison with AT&T's big gains. If Ma Bell can keep that pace up, Big Red's silver medal position is clearly in great immediate danger, and there might even be a path towards first place... eventually.
Recommended For You
Of course, that's a big "if", and while AT&T can certainly be happy with beating Verizon in terms of median nationwide download speed, its 159.3 Mbps result remains far behind T-Mobile's 275.55 Mbps. In median 5G download speeds, Verizon is still the silver medalist, with a 218.95 Mbps score that also can't compare to Magenta's mind-blowing 314.38 Mbps. And yes, T-Mo is the clear nationwide leader of upload speeds, overall latency, 5G upload speeds, and 5G latency as well.
The same carrier wins (almost) everything else too
That's right, T-Mobile doesn't just have the fastest mobile network and fastest 5G signal, but the best 5G availability and most consistent network as well.
That's a pretty shameful result for Verizon in the latest nationwide 5G availability evaluation. | Image by Ookla
The consistency title is actually not won with the greatest ease, as Verizon is a pretty close second placer in the category as far as both overall wireless service and 5G networks are concerned... exactly as it was at the end of 2025. AT&T is a little farther behind (again, just as last year), but what's definitely interesting to point out and worthy of some praise is that all three operators have managed to make significant consistency progress.
T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon are all up in the 5G availability department as well, but that continues to be a battle won by Magenta without much effort or doubt. All these individual victories (including equally notable wins in seemingly less important video experience and gaming experience fields) can only lead to a comfortable triumph when everything is taken into account.
How satisfied are you with your current mobile operator?
199 Votes
Very satisfied.
37.19%
Relatively satisfied.
31.16%
Not that satisfied.
23.12%
Completely disappointed.
8.54%
Yes, T-Mobile has by far the best mobile network in the US... but worryingly enough, its total Speedtest Connectivity Score is down from the July-December 2025 period. The same goes for Verizon and AT&T, so it almost sounds like the real losers of this comprehensive new report based on millions of daily consumer-initiated tests are... American consumers themselves.
A consolation prize for Verizon
It's not much, but Big Red can boast a win in the mobile coverage section of this latest Ookla US Speedtest Connectivity Report, actually holding a pretty large advantage over AT&T and T-Mobile from that particular standpoint and improving the geographical spread of its mobile network... a little from H2 2025.
It's better to win one that none, right? | Image by Ookla
One single trophy definitely beats AT&T's zero-win tally, although at the end of the day, Verizon can't be very satisfied with the results of Ookla's H1 2026 analysis, which hands T-Mobile an especially important final prize in the consumer sentiment category.
That's right, Magenta is (unsurprisingly) the top rated wireless service provider stateside in the eyes of everyday users, which is likely to matter a lot more than video experience evaluations and even speed tests for folks looking to switch their carrier.
Six-month unlimited plan is now 57% off
$90
$210
$120 off (57%)
Mint Mobile is now allowing you to get whichever plan you like for either three, six, or 12 months for just $15/mo. If you go for the six-month unlimited service, for instance, you'll now have to pay just $90 upfront instead of $210.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: