T-Mobile vs Verizon vs AT&T: 2023’s first 5G speed war ends in a bloodbath

Four different speed battles, one single winner

While the (not so) secret recipe for a great mobile network is undeniably composed of many ingredients, most smartphone users primarily look at download speeds when appraising an operator’s (and even a handset’s) quality.

The gap is slightly smaller in the overall download speed “experience” section, but with a 79.5 Mbps average, Magenta looks mighty hard to beat for the foreseeable future from that standpoint as well.

Disregarded by certain users, overall upload speeds and 5G upload speeds are clearly important for many others, like YouTubers and video content creators in general, all of whom are also better served (statistically speaking) by T-Mobile than Verizon and AT&T.

What about everything else?

Of all the other network experience “ingredients” measured by Opensignal researchers, T-Mobile wins the nationwide taste contest in overall consistency, video, gaming, voice app, 5G availability, and 5G reach, leaving Verizon with just three gold medals and AT&T with a single title.

What’s perhaps more important to mention is T-Mo’s huge lead in both 5G availability and 5G reach, which should translate in a much higher real-life likelihood of obtaining (and retaining for a longer period of time) a high-speed cellular signal in most parts of the US right now.

 

Regardless of your mobile network operator of choice, there’s almost no place in the US where you can’t get some type of service today, and Opensignal’s 98 to 99.3 percent coverage numbers for T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T seem to very accurately reflect that situation.

While perhaps not as flashy as some of Magenta’s latest gold medals, Big Red’s three different 5G titles are definitely nothing to scoff at, representing the basis for what could become a truly great high-speed network… whenever speeds will ultimately be improved.

Last but not least, T-Mobile can also be proud of taking Opensignal’s two consistency trophies home, thus guaranteeing, well, a more “consistent” network experience (both on 4G and 5G) in everything from video conference calls to gaming, web browsing, and good old fashioned voice calls. At the end of the day, there’s simply no way to look at these reports and reach a conclusion that doesn’t include T-Mobile’s name and the word “winner.”