Who’s got time to wait on a slow wireless connection?
Fastest Wireless Speeds
2 min readData speed averages across the country
According to Opensignal, a consumer-focused analytics company that specializes in reporting unbiased wireless and broadband data, these were the average overall and 5G download speeds of major carriers.
4G/LTE download speeds
Provider | Download speed |
 | 113.1Mbps |
|---|---|
 | 45.5Mbps |
 | 38.1Mbps |
5G download speeds
Provider | Download speed |
| 204.9Mbps |
|---|---|
| 135.3Mbps |
| 123.5Mbps |
T-Mobile crushes the competition in both overall 4G LTE speed and 5G download speed—by a lot. While Verizon had the lowest overall download speed, it ranks second in 5G speeds, with AT&T dropping from the second-best overall download speed to the third-best 5G speeds.
In summary, here are the average overall speeds and 5G speeds among the three major wireless networks.
- T-Mobile
- Overall download speed: 113.1Mbps
- 5G download speed: 204.9Mbps
- Verizon
- Overall download speed: 38.1Mbps
- 5G download speed: 135.3Mbps
- AT&T
- Overall download speed: 45.5Mbps
- 5G download speed: 123.5Mbps
T-Mobile currently owns the award for the fastest 4G LTE and 5G download speeds.
For overall download speeds, it’s a close race for runner-up between AT&T and Verizon, but AT&T pulls ahead by about 7Mbps, making AT&T Wireless the second-fastest provider for overall download speed.
For 5G download speeds, T-Mobile is at least 69Mbps ahead of Verizon, and AT&T is a close third, just 12Mbps behind.
Prepaid carriers charge less for the same network
Get the fastest 5G network for half the price
Did you know that with a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), you can get a prepaid phone plan on the T-Mobile, AT&T, or Verizon network? Even better, these prepaid carriers get you the same exact service for half the price of a plan from a major provider.
Want a cell phone plan with T-Mobile? Try Mint Mobile or Tello instead. Mint offers a $30/month unlimited plan which includes 40GB of priority data and 10GB of hotspot data. Mint even has plans as low as $15/month for 5GB of data. Tello offers the cheapest limited-data plans around (as low as $8/month for zero data), but you can also get unlimited data for $25/month with 35GB of fast speeds.
Interested in Verizon? Try Visible instead. For just $25/month, you can get unlimited talk, text, and data on Verizon's network, as well as unlimited hotspot use. Or, get its $35/month Unlimited plan, and enjoy unlimited, high-speed data without risk of throttling or deprioritization.
Looking for a phone plan with AT&T ? Try Boost Mobile instead. With Boost, the more months you buy, the more you save. Check out its $25 Unlimited plan—which gives you unlimited data with 30GB of high-speed data and 12GB of hotspot data. (The best part? Boost promotes that this plan will be $25/month forever.)
Recap: T-Mobile reigns supreme
T-Mobile sustains the championship title for both 4G LTE and 5G speeds. If mobile data speeds matter to you, T-Mobile will give you the best experience. Here's how T-Mobile looks on the pedestal.
- T-Mobile
- Average 4G LTE speeds: 113.1Mbps
- Average 5G speeds: 204.9Mbps
Now all eyes are on AT&T and T-Mobile to swing back and take control of the fastest speeds title. We'll report back if they ever make any gains.
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