T-Mobile claims to be the fastest. Verizon is the largest. AT&T is the "strongest." Sprint is the "newest." But who has the best mobile network in the United States?
For six years now, we've been putting drivers on the road throughout the U.S. to test all of the 3G and 4G mobile networks. With wireless penetration in the U.S. now above 100 percent, and 39 percent of households now lacking a landline, reliable 4G connectivity is more critical than ever.
The carriers have all been stepping up this year. T-Mobile has done a massive coverage expansion based on its new 700MHz wireless spectrum and extending LTE over its older 1900MHz coverage area. AT&T and Verizon have both been joining together widely separated wireless channels to speed up their networks. Sprint has been busy building out its high-frequency Spark system to more cities.
In our 2014 results, we found that Verizon had the best nationwide network. T-Mobile had a terrific network in major cities, but dropped off very quickly outside them. AT&T had great coverage but couldn't match Verizon's speeds. Sprint doubled its speeds between 2013 and 2014, but it still had a lot of work to do. This year, anyone could win.
How We Test Differently
There are other firms that test networks, including Root Metrics, OpenSignal, our partners Sensorly, and our sister company Ookla. We've worked with all of them from time to time.
Our study is different because we're testing all of the networks at the same times, in the same locations, using similar devices for the best comparisons. Our measurement involves not just data network speed, but also reliability: we'll be keeping a close eye on when the networks cut out or can't complete tests. We'll also still test the 3G networks for the 30 million-plus people still on 3G devices.
And we're involving you: as we travel around the country, we'll be posting to Instagram at @fastestmobile and to Twitter at @pcmphones everywhere we go.
As in previous years, we're running test software from our technology partner Sensorly, but we'll also be incorporating some data from Ookla Speedtest.net to compare differences between phone models. Could buying a new phone boost your speed and coverage? We'll find out.
Where We're Driving
Our 30 cities divide the country into six regions:
Northeast: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington D.C.
Southeast: Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Tampa, and Miami
North Central: Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Kansas City
South Central: Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio
Northwest: Denver, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle
Southwest: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Los Angeles, and San Diego
If you live in any of these cities, or are on a path between them, we want to hear from you! Tweet to us @pcmphones to tell us where to test, what to see, and what to eat in your city.
This year, we're working with GM and driving a terrific array of Chevy cars and trucks. All of our vehicles will be equipped with OnStar, letting us run another new test: we're going to see if OnStar's powerful, car-based antenna can pull in better AT&T signals in fringe areas than one of the phones in our car.
We'll be on the road from Monday, May 4 through Tuesday, May 26. Then we'll spend a while crunching the numbers, and tell you which network is America's Fastest Mobile Network in mid-June. Follow along with us!