T-Mobile and its more-established 5G network once again proved the big winner in this latest report. The magenta-flavored carrier took top honors for 5G download speeds for the sixth consecutive time, growing its lead over AT&T and Verizon by achieving an average download speed of 171Mbps, more than doubling the 72.8Mbps reported for Verizon Wireless and crushing AT&T’s 53.6Mbps average. While T-Mobile’s lead remains secure for now, both Verizon and AT&T continue to see the benefits of adding the C-Band spectrum to their networks. Opensignal recorded a 29.7% speed increase for Verizon and a 9.1% jump for AT&T since its last measurement was taken. Things were a little more even on the upload side of things. T-Mobile still took the top spot with upload speeds averaging 17.8Mbps, compared to Verizon’s 14Mbps and AT&T’s 10Mbps. Interestingly, there was one notable area where Verizon managed to beat out its younger rival: gaming. Mobile gaming over a 5G connection on Verizon Wireless’ network received a total score of 76.1 out of a possible 100 from the company’s subscribers. This means it was the only carrier to fall into the “Good” range of 75-85 set down by Opensignal. Meanwhile, T-Mobile’s users rated it a lower 72.5, and AT&T’s users gave it 68.3. Also: The 5 best gaming phones: Mobile gaming to the next level Verizon also took the crown for the 5G voice experience, although this was one race that was almost a dead heat across all three carriers. Big red’s customers gave it an average rating here of 80.7 out of 100, compared to T-Mobile’s 79.3 and AT&T’s 78.7. Of course, none of these performance metrics matters if you can’t access a 5G network, to begin with. Opensignal’s measurement of 5G availability for mid-2022 once again held T-Mobile up as the gold standard of the moment. According to measurements, T-Mobile customers had access to 5G 40.6% of the time. This is more than double the 18.7% 5G availability experienced by AT&T subscribers and almost four times Verizon’s 10.6% availability. As both Verizon and AT&T continue deploying hardware to populate all of the C-Band spectrum they both spent fortunes acquiring, the 5G race will likely tighten up. But, for now, T-Mobile’s head start (and all of the hardware provided by its Sprint acquisition) is keeping it well ahead of its competitors for fifth-generation dominance.
