While 4G/LTE speeds have been somewhat stagnant over the past few years, the expanded rollout of these faster 5G frequencies is pulling up the median speeds, especially as more customers upgrade to 5G-capable phones. Midband and near-midband spectrum remain the driving force behind the growth of cellular speeds across the U.S. Overall median download speeds were 69.01Mbps, a 16% increase from its previous 59.67Mbps score, while 5G download speeds grew by only 6.8%, from 119.8Mbps in the third quarter 2022 to 127.95Mbps in the fourth quarter.ĪT&T was just behind Verizon for overall download speeds, clocking in at 65.57Mbps, up from 54.64Mbps in the quarter before, but its median 5G download speeds remain pretty disappointing, increasing only 5% to 85.39Mbps from the previous 81.22Mbps measurement. While the increase was less when it came to pure 5G speeds - 193.06Mbps to 216.56Mbps, or only 12% - it’s still nearly double the growth of its rivals.Īs usual, Verizon was in second place, but it remains a pretty distant second. Nevertheless, the results speak for themselves, with T-Mobile’s overall median download speeds jumping by an impressive 30%, from 116.14Mbps in the third quarter of 2022 to 151.37Mbps in the fourth quarter. It’s an ironic and amusing twist considering this same 1.9GHz spectrum once left VoiceStream at a disadvantage against its rivals, which at the time could offer much more expansive 2G/3G coverage with their low-band 800MHz spectrum. These 1.9GHz frequencies were once used by T-Mobile’s predecessor, VoiceStream Wireless PCS, to provide 2G and 3G services, but as more customers move to 5G-capable devices and 3G networks ride off into the sunset, they’ve become ideal for carrying 5G to the masses. T-Mobile also recently played another ace it was holding, repurposing some older 1.9GHz PCS spectrum to add an additional layer to its Ultra Capacity 5G service.

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