RootMetrics today released its report on the Mobile Network Performance in the US for the first half of 2015, offering details on what it found when traveling 237,506 miles and performing 6.1 million tests.
For the overall US, RootMetrics determined that Verizon offered the best overall performance in its testing, scoring 94.5 out of 100. AT&T came in second with 91.8, Sprint was third with 87.5, and T-Mobile finished fourth with 82. Verizon actually one five of the six US categories — Overall Performance, Network Reliability, Network Speed, Data Performance, and Call Performance — with AT&T claiming first place in Text Performance.
Focusing on each of the carriers, RootMetrics describes Verizon as being reliable and “extremely fast” in metro areas. The study found that AT&T was reliable as well, showing performance that’s “on a relative par” with Verizon, but the big blue carrier’s top-end speeds (exceeding 20Mbps) weren’t found in nearly as many markets as Verizon and T-Mobile.
Moving on to Sprint, RootMetrics highlighted the yellow operator’s improved award tally, which saw Sprint grow from 135 awards in the second half of 2014 to 180 in the first half of 2015. Text performance was the primary driver of this growth. RootMetrics also notes that Sprint showed “significant progress” in reliability. Finally, RootMetrics says that T-Mobile did well in offering fast download speeds, coming in a close second to Verizon, ad that T-Mo also improved its reliability. However, RootMetrics criticized T-Mobile’s performance outside of urban areas, saying that T-Mo “lacks the broad coverage to excel in our National or State RootScore studies.”
Whenever network performance enters the discussion, it’s worth noting that the best way to figure out how a carrier performs in your area is to talk to friends and family on the network and take it for a test drive if you can. Reports like these are a good starting point, but there are also some caveats to keep in mind. For example, this RootMetrics report doesn’t take into account the absolute latest network upgrades, just the ones that were available at the time of its testing. So if you’re looking to switch carriers, reports like these can be a nice tool but shouldn’t be the sole thing that you use to make your decision.
How do RootMetrics findings compare to your own experience with your carrier?