T-Mobile crowned the fastest mobile carrier – and it wasn't even close

T-Mobile customers should be happy to know that the Uncarrier was crowned the mobile speed king based on a new report from Speedtest app provider Ookla. Analyzing and comparing mobile performance among the three top US carriers from July to December 2024, Ookla found that T-Mobile provided the fastest speeds across all types of connections and specifically for 5G.

Led the pack

Based on data from users running Speedtest, T-Mobile delivered a median download speed of 212.77 Mbps, outscoring AT&T at 95.08 Mbps and Verizon Wireless at 86.23 Mbps. The Uncarrier also led the pack for the median upload speed at 11.45 Mbps and the lowest latency at 49 ms.

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On the 5G front, T-Mobile was clocked at a median download speed of 281.52 Mbps and a median upload speed of 13.39 Mbps. Those numbers helped it win top grades for the fastest 5G network and the best 5G gaming experience. In second place, Verizon recorded a median download 5G speed of 199.1 Mbps, followed by AT&T at 140.09 Mbps. But Verizon did eke out a win here for the best 5G video experience.

Consistent network performance

Speed doesn’t do much good without consistent performance. And here, T-Mobile also came out on top. The company recorded the best network consistency in the US with more than 85% of its data samples meeting or surpassing a threshold of 5 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads. T-Mobile also led for consistency and availability in 5G performance.

Further, the Uncarrier was rated as the top US mobile provider by customers with a score of 3.7 out of 5, ahead of Verizon at 3.29 and AT&T at 3.12. Overall, T-Mobile took home a speed score of 222.63, followed by Verizon with 113.2, and AT&T with 111.07. The speed score is a combination of download and upload performance that takes into account modern chipsets so as not to penalize older and slower devices.

Why was T-Mobile able to outperform the other two major US carriers?

“T-Mobile has built a sizable lead on 5G performance, thanks mainly to early deployment in mid-band spectrum,” Mark Giles, lead industry analyst at Ookla, told ZDNET. “It continues to advance its performance, with the introduction of 5G Standalone, despite both Verizon and AT&T seeing significant improvements thanks to their deployments in C-band spectrum.”

Ookla’s report also measured the speed and reliability of broadband networks from internet providers. Among AT&T Fiber, Verizon, Xfinity, Cox, and Spectrum, AT&T was the leader of the pack. The company’s fiber network was the fastest and most consistent fixed network.

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AT&T Fiber led on median download speed with 357.45 Mbps, ahead of Spectrum with 294.33 Mbps and Cox with 277.71 Mbps. AT&T’s fiber network also outscored those of its rivals on median upload speed with 286.93 Mbps and low latency of 19 ms.