T-Mobile Posts Fastest US 5G Downloads, OpenSignal Finds

T-Mobile had the best 5G download speed among U.S. carriers, a first, in an Opensignal report. T-Mobile users had average 5G download speeds of 58.1 Mbps, ahead of AT&T at 53.8 Mbps and Verizon at 47.4 Mbps, said the report covering Sept. 16-Dec. 14. Opensignal collected 15 billion measurements from 2.2 million devices.

The average 5G download speed experienced by AT&T users fell from 60.8 Mbps to 53.8 Mbps. Verizon had a similar fall due to the launch of its nationwide 5G offering, which uses lower bands than the millimeter wave technology it exclusively relied on before October, Opensignal noted Monday.

T-Mobile benefited from the midband spectrum it acquired in the Sprint buy. The 2.5 GHz spectrum has more capacity than the 600 MHz it previously used and “much more” than the lower wavelengths used by AT&T and Verizon, said Opensignal.

T-Mobile also led in 5G availability, download speed experience, upload speed and upload speed experience for 5G users. T-Mobile users were connected to 5G 30.1% of the time, vs. 18.8% for AT&T and 9.5% for Verizon customers, said the report.

Verizon users saw the biggest leap in 5G availability as the impact of its nationwide fifth-generation launch and use of dynamic spectrum sharing helped boost availability from 0.4% in the previous period to 9.5%. Verizon led in 5G video experience at 64.9 points on a scale of 0-100, vs. T-Mobile (57.8) and AT&T (62.5).

Measuring overall video experience for fifth-gen users, including time spent connected to 4G and 3G, Verizon led at 62.1 points, followed by AT&T at 58.9 and T-Mobile at 56.3. In 5G upload speed, T-Mobile led with an average 14 Mbps, followed by Verizon at 11.9 Mbps and AT&T at 8 Mbps. Sharing photos, videos and other large files benefits from 5G speeds, and with users streaming more video to communicate with friends and colleagues during the COVID-19 pandemic, quality of upload connection is increasingly important, the researcher reported.

T-Mobile led in overall upload speed experience for 5G users at an average 11.4 Mbps, with Verizon at 8.2 Mbps and AT&T at 5.6 Mbps. The slower 4G experience that 5G users have when they don’t have a 5G connection pulled down the overall 5G user scores by 19%-31%, depending on carrier, it said.

T-Mobile won every state award for 5G availability, said Opensignal. The arrival of the fifth-gen iPhone meant every major handset maker now includes 5G, and all Americans upgrading to one of the latest flagship U.S. smartphone models will now receive the capability as standard, Opensignal said.

Also Monday, IHS' RootMetrics noted the growing importance of 5G to consumers. Fifty-nine percent of consumers said the availability was important for their next purchase decision, up 10 percentage points from their last purchase. Three-quarters cited data speeds as important for the next purchase vs. 71% previously.

Verizon scored highest overall in RootMetrics' report, factoring for reliability, accessibility, speed, data, calls and texts. As a whole, Verizon had the fastest aggregate median download speed at 40 Mbps, vs. AT&T at 33.8 Mbps and T-Mobile at 20.1 Mbps.