T-Mobile US swept the latest network test awards at Open Signal, as rivals AT&T and Verizon showed a drop in 4G speeds following the introduction in unlimited data plans. In tests conducted in April to June, T-Mobile scored best in availability, download speeds and latency.
Compared to the last tests by Open Signal in February, Verizon showed a drop in average 4G speed of 2 Mbps, to 14.9 Mbps, which the market researcher saying this is likely due to the launch of unlimited data plans by the operator. AT&T's speed dropped to 12.9 Mbps from 13.9 Mbps in the February report. T-Mobile and Sprint, which have been offering unlimited data for a longer period, both showed improved average speeds, of respectively 17.5 Mbps and 9.8 Mbps.
T-Mobile also became the first US operator to pass 90 percent 4G availability in the test tests, at 90.9 percent. Verizon was close behind with 4G available 89.8 percent of the time. Open Signal measures availability through how often an app on phones can connect to LTE, rather than geographic coverage. All four operators showed improvement in availability compared to February, led by an increase at Sprint from 76.8 percent to 81.6 percent.
Open Signal noted that T-Mobile may be doing better on availability due to its traditional focus on urban areas. In its city analysis, Verizon won in 14 markets, and in every other market except Cincinnati, it recorded a two-way tie between T-Mobile and Verizon. In terms of speed, Verizon won in six markets and shared the top spot in 24 markets, while T-Mobile won 4G speed in four markets and shared the top spot in 25 markets.
