Internet speeds increase 15.8% on mobile with AT&T winning best in show in Q2

Although AT&T had the fastest network, T-Mobile had significantly more 5G coverge than the nation’s other operators combined.

The reliable Q2 2020 Speedtest United States Market Report by Ookla, based upon data from over 1.6 million unique mobile user devices and 18.9 million fixed broadband devices, shows that AT&T is the fastest and most consistent mobile network, but T-Mobile has the competition beat on 5G availability.

Ookla revealed yesterday that the median download speed over mobile in the U.S. increased 15.8% between Q2 2019 and Q2 2020 to 29.00 Mbps. The median upload speed for mobile was 5.74 Mbps, down 15.2% from Q2 2019.

Median download speed over fixed broadband increased 19.6% during the last year to 86.04 Mbps in Q2 2020, and median upload speed increased 1.5% to 11.86 Mbps in Q2 2020.

Ookla said it saw a decline in mobile and fixed broadband download speeds in early March as consumer behavior shifted in response to the pandemic, but speeds have since rebounded.

Reporting on 5G, Ookla said that all major U.S. operators were focused on implementing 5G over the past year and AT&T continued to roll out its millimeter wave “5G+” network in parts of major cities. In addition, AT&T repurposed its 850 MHz low-band spectrum, previously used for 3G service, in parts of 30 states to offer improved 5G coverage.

Verizon launched new 5G markets and expanded its millimeter wave “Ultra Wideband” 5G footprint in parts of 35 cities. Verizon recently completed Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) field trials, and is expected to start leveraging its sub-6GHz spectrum for 5G by the end of the year.

In June 2019, T-Mobile launched their millimeter wave 5G in parts of six markets, followed by the nationwide rollout of 5G in the 600 MHz band to cover more than 200 million users. With the successful completion of the Sprint merger, T-Mobile accelerated the rollout of 5G in the 2.5 GHz band, which became commercially available in Philadelphia and New York City.

As of July 8, 2020, there were 5,165 commercially available 5G deployments in the U.S. according to the Ookla 5G Map™. T-Mobile had the majority of these deployments with 5,008. AT&T had 355 deployments and Verizon Wireless 39. While Sprint did show 5G results during Q2 2020, T-Mobile has since shut down those sites. The number of T-Mobile 5G deployments suggests that they had significantly more 5G coverage as of Q2 than the other operators combined.

DC fastest for mobile, New Jersey for fixed
Analyzing performance at the state level, Ookla identified that the District of Columbia showed the fastest median download speed on mobile during Q2 2020, while New Jersey showed the fastest median download speed over fixed broadband during the same period.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was the fastest city in the U.S. for mobile during Q2 2020 while Kansas City, Missouri was the fastest city for fixed broadband.

You can read Ookla’s full report for full rankings in all fifty states and the 100 most populous cities in the country. They also include data on providers’ performance in states and major cities.