![]() T-Mobile may be the fastest carrier nationwide, but it’s important to remember that this is in terms of median download speeds across the entire country. Now it’s using the aforementioned 1.9GHz PCS spectrum to expand its Ultra Capacity 5G network to even more people, and it’s been playing with other technologies to break the 3Gbps barrier without using extremely short-range mmWave frequencies. T-Mobile subsequently dropped $9.3 billion in the 2021 C-band auction with the intention of using some of that 3.7GHz to 3.98GHz spectrum to supplement its 2.5GHz network to provide coverage in denser population centers. Its midband 5G network was up and running well ahead of the rest thanks to the 2.5GHz spectrum it acquired from its 2020 merger with Sprint. Meanwhile, T-Mobile has been putting its eggs in more than one basket. ![]() As a result, we may see AT&T’s numbers start to rise more significantly by the time the next market research reports are published. ![]() While Verizon put all of its resources into deploying its initial C-band spectrum - which wasn’t surprising considering it paid $45 billion to acquire it - AT&T has hedged its bets with some less controversial midband spectrum that it’s only begun rolling out more recently. However, this may soon change in AT&T’s case. AT&T has also purchased a chunk of this spectrum, but the carrier has been much more conservative in rolling it out to only a few cities, which accounts for the much lower numbers of its network. However, the numbers show that things have mostly stabilized for the carrier since then. ![]() Verizon gained a considerable boost early last year when it was finally able to deploy its new midrange C-Band spectrum. While 4G/LTE speeds have been somewhat stagnant over the past few years, the expanded rollout of these faster 5G frequencies is pulling up the median speeds, especially as more customers upgrade to 5G-capable phones. Midband and near-midband spectrum remain the driving force behind the growth of cellular speeds across the U.S. Overall median download speeds were 69.01Mbps, a 16% increase from its previous 59.67Mbps score, while 5G download speeds grew by only 6.8%, from 119.8Mbps in the third quarter 2022 to 127.95Mbps in the fourth quarter.ĪT&T was just behind Verizon for overall download speeds, clocking in at 65.57Mbps, up from 54.64Mbps in the quarter before, but its median 5G download speeds remain pretty disappointing, increasing only 5% to 85.39Mbps from the previous 81.22Mbps measurement. While the increase was less when it came to pure 5G speeds - 193.06Mbps to 216.56Mbps, or only 12% - it’s still nearly double the growth of its rivals.Īs usual, Verizon was in second place, but it remains a pretty distant second. Nevertheless, the results speak for themselves, with T-Mobile’s overall median download speeds jumping by an impressive 30%, from 116.14Mbps in the third quarter of 2022 to 151.37Mbps in the fourth quarter. It’s an ironic and amusing twist considering this same 1.9GHz spectrum once left VoiceStream at a disadvantage against its rivals, which at the time could offer much more expansive 2G/3G coverage with their low-band 800MHz spectrum. These 1.9GHz frequencies were once used by T-Mobile’s predecessor, VoiceStream Wireless PCS, to provide 2G and 3G services, but as more customers move to 5G-capable devices and 3G networks ride off into the sunset, they’ve become ideal for carrying 5G to the masses. T-Mobile also recently played another ace it was holding, repurposing some older 1.9GHz PCS spectrum to add an additional layer to its Ultra Capacity 5G service.
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