T-Mobile Was the Fastest U.S. Cellular Provider in Q1 2022

[noblesoul117]

Last year I spent two months on the road and got their International Data add-on(or whatever it's called) to have access to dependable tethering. As long as the location had good reception, I got great data speeds. It was fully functional mobile internet for laptop-level needs. Just checked: I used 660GB in the first month and 1101GB in the second, without a peep from T-Mobile.

In general wherever I go, it's really good, unless reception is really low. I've been getting the "5G UC" a lot in unexpected places in a more rural state/town on my iPhone 13 Pro.

Quite the rise to fame from when I joined them in 2015 and they were the underdog who only had great customer service and an eccentric CEO going for them. I distinctly remember joining T-Mobile just because AT&T and Verizon felt more evil AKA I'd experienced their overpriced plans and limited options in the past. T-Mobile was a refreshing option. I've since heard that their customer service has gone downhill (outsourced to Indians who are Yes Men to the customer, only for the customer to later discover that promises weren't kept and options didn't exist, and now they must speak to an American to fix it?), but I haven't interacted with customer service much so can't comment.

 

[kalafalas]

T-Mobile's numbers are looking very nicely hear because of their early start on midband deployment, but next quarter I expect to see Verizon pull to the top with midband being mostly deployed, with AT&T still lagging in third as their midband deployment is still awaiting action.

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

where in Phoenix do you live, I work in Buckeye I get over 400 down and almost 100 up. Must be your phone Also , in Chandler and Gilbert I get over 800 down and 200 up.

I left them in October for Verizon. Live in West Phoenix, work in Tempe... several dead spots along the 1-17 / I-10 driving to/from work. Speeds never above 20-30 Mbps. Always get the latest and greatest iPhones on launch day... every year.

 

[DogHouseDub]

Such as what?..

Once upon a time, only AT&T had visual voicemail. Verizon customers did not.

 

[alexandr]

Once upon a time, only AT&T had visual voicemail. Verizon customers did not.

Ah, like that.. Yes, also Verizon didn't have data while on a call, which was just mind boggling)
I don't think anything like that is around today though?..

 

[bousozoku]

T-Mobile is garbage in San Francisco. I was lucky to get 3 mbps down in Eurkea Valley near Castro. Lots of dead zones all over SF. Had to switch to ATT

T-Mobile is good in Central Valley, thanks to Sprint.

 

[SenorWhyMe]

Seems I was always reading Sprint service was terrible (unless you liked those annoying walkie-talkie phones from days long past). Maybe you're on the same crappy Sprint towers, but paying T-Mobile for the privilege?

nope could be based on areas but it was faster than t-mobile i live closer to country side in california

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

AT&T rates at the top with me for the "I have bars, it says 5G but I have no internet" experience.

 

[incoherent_1]

They've come a longggg way since I was first a T-Mobile customer 20+ years ago. Great coverage on multiple roadtrips, and never any issues. I travel abroad often, so the free international roaming is a great perk, too.

 

[August West]

I tired T-Mobile Home Internet service a couple of months ago. Speeds were only fair at 15-30 Mbps during the day and 1-8 Mbps in the evenings. Pings ranged from 80-400 ms. Only 4G LTE service is available in my area. These are about the same speeds as I get from my roof-top microwave reciever system so I returned the T-Mobile box since at $50/month it was slightly more expensive than my current setup.

I consistently get 30-50 Mbps on my phone at home from Verizon but unfortunately they don't offer Home Internet service in this area.

Xfinity is rumored to be coming to this area within the next few years which should help. Hoping to be able to get 50Mbps consistanly if they lay fiber out here.

 

[pierce1979]

When it’s fast it’s fast, but when it’s not it can be terrible, too many times I have found myself with questionable reception while friends on att and verizon have no issue.

 

[danielsutton]

Unless you're in a dead or weak spot... then it's terrible.

View attachment 1993338
(NOTE the full bars)

Your speed test is showing results for LTE service, 5G is a bit faster, so I think this is what the article is specifically referring to. There is "regular" 5G and then the faster versions of 5G. Verizon, for example, has 5G and "5G Ultra Wideband" service. T-Mobile probably has something similar.

 

[planteater]

Worked fine in DC/NC on my trip! here in Utah I get around 700ish down at my home!
View attachment 1993354

Nice wifi connection.

 

[cyanite]

I consider Verizon’s low band 5G fake even though it is technically considered real 5G.

It's technically and actually 5G regardless of the band used, since it uses the 5G NR radio link.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

T-Mobile has been good to me for the past couple of years on both 4G LTE and 5G.

Below is around the average speeds I get in Queens and Manhattan NYC. Left is S22 Ultra (5G), Right is iPhone 11 Pro Max (4G). This is inside my Co-Op apartment building, the walls are solid concrete and is considered a fallout shelter, so I’m impressed. I didn’t get close to these speeds on 4G or 5G two years ago. In certain spots outside (mostly Manhattan), I easily get over a gig on 5G.

 

[tigres]

Nice wifi connection.

Could be on T-mobile home internet, I have it as a backup and get around 600Mbs down, 89up. About to dump xfinity, as it is 3x the price of t-mobile 5g home internet.

 

[nwcs]

Do carriers game Ookla for wireless as they do for cable internet? I wonder what the results would be like if using fast.com?

 

[Michael Scrip]

One thing I've always wondered...

There could be hundreds of people connected to the same tower in a given area.

What if they all ran SpeedTest at the same time?

?

 

[Stunning_Sense4712]

It's technically and actually 5G regardless of the band used, since it uses the 5G NR radio link.

I said that in my post it is technically 5G even though it can only meet one of the 5G requirements which is low latency once stand alone 5G network core is launched. Low Band 5G can not provide capacity or fast speeds to devices. In my opinion low band never should have been labeled as 5G service.

 

[NightFlight]

I was on T-Mobile for 10+ years and recently switched to AT&T which was a huge mistake. In DC and Northern Virginia, T-Mobile had significantly faster speeds and better coverage for me.

 

[BuffaloTF]

T-Mobile's numbers are looking very nicely hear because of their early start on midband deployment, but next quarter I expect to see Verizon pull to the top with midband being mostly deployed, with AT&T still lagging in third as their midband deployment is still awaiting action.

Also in the next quarter T Mobile will be able to roll out the full bandwidth of their 2.5/2.6 ghz with Sprint CDMA being turned off, and then add it to the Sprint PCS network. I really don’t see the numbers changing here. Just growing closer together.

Side note, what I really wanted to write here is that T-Mo’s ScamShield alone is worth the price of service. It actually works. I only have other experience with AT&T’s Call Protect, but that wasn’t so great - perhaps doing nothing more than putting a warning on the caller ID. With ScamShield, the phone doesn’t even ring - even when the logs show the robo dialer attempted me 58 times over 100 seconds. Not a 1 car warranty or other BS call since turning this on…

 

[farkleboy]

1. Just left Tmobile, in urban minnesota, never got those speeds. When 5G was switched on my phone everything drastically slowed down no matter what the connection. LTE was fine, if I could get decent signal.
2. Left tmobile because of the totally inaccurate coverage maps. They just let some lunatic paint the whole damn state magenta and never actually tested anything it seems. iphone 12 should be able to get signal everywhere in MN so they say, but rarely got full 5 bars, usually 2-3 and even then calls would drop constantly.
3. Their customer service was on point. After finalyl figureing out that twitter was their platform of choice for support, always had my questions answered, and if there was a problem (besides coverage) it was solved.
4. Switched to Verizon as they finally figured out if they matched prices people would switch, and it worked. Ended up saving $45 a month on 5 unlimited lines compared to TM, and the signal has been solid 5 bars and no dropouts in the past 2 months. WIll be doing some traveling to northern MN this summer which will compare to my tmobile experience in rural areas.

Wanted to stick with TM, but their coverage is so bogus. Also, I'm not sure if I would ever be able to tell the difference between a solid LTE connection and a 5g connection. I mean when is it fast enough? The only reason I have 600 DL/ 20upload at home is becuase it was cheaper than the 200mb plan (shows you how messed up Comcast is) and I'll never saturate that pipe.

 

[GalileoSeven]

They're also the fastest at losing their customer's data.

This.

When I switched from Sprint/TMo last June, the difference in my city was like night and day (and it was cheaper to boot) Wonder how much they had to pay Ookla for the good press.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Do carriers game Ookla for wireless as they do for cable internet? I wonder what the results would be like if using fast.com?

I get the same results using an app called SpeedSmart.

 

[maasj]

T-Mobile has treated us well here in Central PA...and has been useable in many international destinations ?

Yeah, I came here to say that T-Mobile's service is great in State College, PA. In some parts of town it's noticeably better than the Verizon service I switched from. But of course, YMMV. People only care about service in the parts of the earth they frequent.