T-Mobile Nudges Out Verizon To Take Crown As America’s Fastest LTE Network

T-Mobile might be the third largest carrier in the US, but looking at things through different angles can make it #1. We can see this with the help of the latest results out of OpenSignal, a firm that collects data through real users (who opt-in to use its mobile app).

For overall coverage, Verizon reigns supreme. It also does well in overall download speeds, tying with T-Mobile. Beyond that, T-Mobile shows the best latency and download speeds over 3G, which gives it enough of an edge to beat out Verizon, and AT&T and Sprint, for that matter. In LTE speeds, T-Mobile also topped Verizon with average download speeds of 12.26Mbps versus 11.98Mbps. Out of five metrics, AT&T didn't place first in a single one, while Sprint snatched up just one award for 4G latency.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere

While a good chunk of this report is favorable towards T-Mobile, there are some simple statistics that make us wonder why our cellular situation is less-than-stellar in the US. The US 4G average, for example, is 9.9Mbps, whereas it's 13.5Mbps globally. To T-Mobile and Verizon's credit, they both come at least close, settling at around 12Mbps on average, based on download tests in 11 major cities.

Download speeds can vary greatly depending on where you are in the country, though. If you're in Atlanta, you might be able to enjoy speeds of up to 16.9Mbps if you're on Verizon or T-Mobile. In Miami, if you're on Verizon, you might even see 18.9Mbps.

Have any of you managed to see speeds greater than any of these anywhere in the US? And if so, which carrier delivered them? With some LTE phones boasting speeds of up to 150Mbps, it is a bit strange to see it be so rare to come anywhere within 30% of that.

Speaking of strange, it might strike some as a little odd to see T-Mobile heralded so much in these results given its lackluster coverage situation, but OpenSignal paints a pretty picture here as well. It shows that T-Mobile's nationwide LTE coverage has increased to 81%, which matches it with AT&T and is "closing the gap" with Verizon. It still has a way to go, but seeing this growth is reassuring.