Ookla, the company behind Speedtest, has released a report on the health of mobile networks here in the United States. In that report, T-Mobile was deemed to have the best performing mobile network in the country, outscoring Verizon, AT&T and Sprint.
Speedtest, for those who don’t know, is a service that allows you to test the download and upload speed of your data connection (or Wi-Fi) from a website or their mobile app.
The report bases the information on a new Speed Score model that the company uses to measure the performance of mobile networks.
This year Ookla also introduced Speed Score to more accurately reflect the full breadth of networking experience on a given network. Speed Score incorporates low-end, median and top-end performance for both download and upload speed. It’s a comprehensive metric that combines all factors that matter to a good network experience into a single score.
Using this methodology, the test results should more accurately reflect what users can expect from a particular mobile network.
In the report, T-Mobile had a Speed Score of 23.17 on a 30 point scale while Verizon came in second at 21.13. The report cites T-Mobile’s tight cell grid and overall smaller customer base as reasons for their success but also pointed out their leveraging of the 700MHz spectrum as part of their success too.
The combination of a tightly-spaced cell site grid and a smaller subscriber base than Verizon and AT&T could be the keys to T-Mobile’s success in the U.S. market and to their ability to support the exponential growth in mobile data consumption. Leveraging 700MHz spectrum, T-Mobile has been expanding its LTE footprint into new markets.
Third in the Speed Score was AT&T at 20.05 with the Ookla report citing that a drop in performance was suffered by the carrier after the introduction of their Unlimited Plan.
Bringing up the rear was Sprint with a score of 15.39 but, when compared to the same report in 2016, their score is up an impressive 23.7%.
The full report is over at Speedtest and it is a well detailed report that is worth the read.
