T-Mobile is best mobile network in all categories but one, OpenSignal says

By Christian de Looper Published January 22, 2018

T-Mobile is on the way up. OpenSignal’s latest State of Mobile Networks report delves into struggles that the likes of Verizon have been having of late — and it seems as though T-Mobile is picking up a lot of the slack.

Verizon and AT&T’s data speeds took a bit of a hit when they first started offering unlimited data plans, we previously reported, though their speeds now seem to be recovering — even if only slightly. According to the report, T-Mobile has established itself as the fastest and most responsive mobile network around in the meantime. In fact, T-Mobile took all of OpenSignal’s awards except for one — 4G latency, which was won by AT&T, though T-Mobile came in a close second. T-Mobile even managed to set a personal record in the fourth quarter of 2017, hitting an average download high of 19.4 Mbps. (And we picked T-Mob’s “One Unlimited Plan” as the best unlimited data plan.)

Recommended Videos

Interestingly enough, Sprint is also showing signs of life. OpenSignal’s report showed some pretty big gains by the company in both data speeds and LTE availability in the past year. That’s good news for Sprint, which has reportedly seen customers leave in droves over the past few years.

According to OpenSignal, 2018 could be a pretty unpredictable year for mobile networks. T-Mobile may be a dominant player right now, but competition is heating up, especially as we head into the deployment of 5G. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile have all said that they’ll begin rollout of 5G networks toward the end of this year, and T-Mobile says that it’s targeting a full rollout by 2020.

As OpenSignal notes, however, Verizon has a history of making big moves under pressure. The company was the first to launch its LTE network, and in 2013, when its 4G network was under strain, it launched a major upgrade that reinstated its high speeds. The same thing seems to be happening now — and we’ll have to wait and see how Verizon responds.

“The stakes couldn’t be higher in 2018. The first 5G networks may still be years away, but the foundations of those 5G services will be built on the 4G infrastructure we use today. The more power the operators build into their LTE systems, the better prepared they’ll be to offer the next generation of mobile services,” said OpenSignal in its report.

Christian de Looper

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Christian de Looper is a long-time freelance writer who has covered every facet of the consumer tech and electric vehicle…

Topics

Mobile

OnePlus is killing it, but it still needs to fix this problem with its phones

The OnePlus 13's camera.

If you're looking to buy one of the best phones right now, you need to consider the latest flagship from OnePlus. Dubbed the OnePlus 13, it launched three weeks ago and after spending more than a month with it, it's become clear that it's my favorite Android smartphone.

Yet, there's a clear problem with the OnePlus 13 and it's a long-standing problem that OnePlus has never really tried to resolve. Well, that's not entirely true but internal strife between former co-founders and the complex issue of its relationship with sibling Oppo have made it a challenge for OnePlus to solve this.

Mobile

T-Mobile crushed its rivals in this important test

A person playing a game on the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro.

In the U.S., the top carriers don't offer the same network performance. One carrier has significantly outperformed the others over the past six months, according to data collected in network and connectivity expert Ookla's latest "Speedtest Connectivity Report." The report, which covers data collected between July and December 2024, found that T-Mobile, the third-largest carrier in the U.S., has emerged as the clear leader in overall performance. The differences are striking.

Ookla reports that T-Mobile provides media download speeds 120% faster than its closest competitor, AT&T. Verizon, the largest carrier by subscriber count, ranked third. These speeds are enough for Ookla to conclude that T-Mobile offers the best mobile gaming experience.

Mobile

Verizon and AT&T confirm cyberattacks, assure networks are in clear

A robot standing a wall with an AT&T branding.

In the wake of cyberattacks by cyber-intrusion groups, both AT&T and Verizon have confirmed that their systems have now recovered and are operating safely. In separate press notes attributed to Reuters and Bloomberg, both major telecom operators cleared that they worked with law enforcement authorities to mitigate the harm from state-linked threats tied to espionage activities

As per the U.S. government, at least nine telecom labels have come under attacks from Salt Typhoon, a Chinese-linked cyberespionage operation. So far, the true extent of the attack on the two aforementioned carriers has not been made public knowledge, but it seems the threat was targeted.