T-Mobile and Verizon Tied in Network Speeds [Chart]

T-Mobile and Verizon are tied in network speeds and T-Mobile is chipping away at Verizon's lead in 4G availability, according to the latest 'State of Mobile Networks' report from OpenSignal.

Drawing on 4.6 billion measurements, OpenSignal compared both the national and regional performance of the U.S. big 4.

Here are some highlights from their findings:


● T-Mobile and Verizon are neck and neck in speed
Six months ago T-Mobile had just edged ahead of Verizon in our 4G speed rankings, but in our fourth quarter tests Verizon regained ground. The two were tied for first place in our 4G and overall speed metrics.

● Verizon holds onto top spot for 4G availability
Our testers were able to find a Verizon LTE signal 88.2% of the time, cementing Big Red's place at the top of our 4G rankings. But T-Mobile has been systematically closing the gap. In the fourth quarter its 4G availability was less than two percentage points below Verizon's, the closest we've seen that difference.

● All four operators extend their LTE reach
In the last six months, all four operators saw significant improvements in their 4G availability scores. Sprint, however, experienced the biggest boost of nearly 7 percentage points. Sprint is still in last place in our availability rankings, but it's definitely improving quickly.

● 3G connections fade into the background
As operators provide more consistent LTE coverage, 3G connections are becoming largely irrelevant. Our overall speed measurements, which factor in both 3G and 4G networks, were less than 2 Mbps slower than operators' 4G speed measurements. Smartphone users are spending so little time on CDMA and HSPA networks that those connections are barely factoring into our results.


Hit the link below for a more detailed breakdown of the results...

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