T-Mobile, Verizon or AT&T? New study reveals best mobile carrier – ranks internet providers, too
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ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Ookla’s study measured speed and consistency among US telecom providers.
- T-Mobile was tops among the three major US mobile carriers.
- AT&T Fiber ranked first among major internet providers.
Not happy with your current mobile carrier or internet provider and looking to jump ship? You may be interested in the results of a new study from internet speed test service Ookla.
For its latest Speedtest Connectivity Report, Ookla examined the speed, performance, and consistency of mobile carriers and internet providers across the US for the first half of 2026. Based on the results from users of the service’s Speedtest tool, T-Mobile took home top prize as the best mobile carrier, while AT&T Fiber ranked as the top internet provider.
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Now, let’s dive into the details.
Mobile performance
Compared with AT&T and Verizon, T-Mobile had the best and fastest mobile network overall, as well as the best 5G network. T-Mobile was tops in median download speed at 275.55 Mbps (megabits per second), ahead of second-place AT&T at 159.3 Mbps. It also recorded the best median upload speed at 13.04 Mbps and the lowest latency at 45 ms (milliseconds).
Latency is the time it takes for data to travel from your end to the receiving server and back again. The lower the latency, the more responsive and reliable the connection. Low latency is especially important for video calls, online gaming, and other intensive activities that need to run without interruptions or lag in the connection.
Looking at 5G performance, T-Mobile again came out on top with a median download speed of 314.38 Mbps, ahead of second-place Verizon at 218.95 Mbps. It also achieved the best median 5G upload speed of 14.06 Mbps, with a latency of only 43 ms.
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Speed alone isn’t the only factor when choosing a mobile carrier. Just as important is consistency, meaning how frequently the connection meets or exceeds a certain threshold of speed. And here, T-Mobile also outshone its two rivals.
Across all connection types, 89.7% of the T-Mobile sample data packets analyzed by Ookla met or exceeded the thresholds of 5 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads. Across 5G connections, T-Mobile’s samples met or surpassed the threshold of 25 Mbps for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads.
Among other factors, T-Mobile outscored the competition in nationwide geographic coverage, as well as in video and gaming experience. To no surprise, T-Mobile was the top-rated carrier among users of Ookla’s Speedtest, with a score of 3.77 out of 5. Verizon took home second place with a score of 3.25, followed by AT&T at 3.09.
Internet performance
For internet performance, Ookla’s study included results for AT&T Fiber, Verizon, Cox, Xfinity, and Spectrum. Here, AT&T Fiber came in first with the fastest fixed network, recording a median download speed of 374.75 Mbps, ahead of second-place Spectrum at 351.96 Mbps. AT&T Fiber was also tops on median upload speed at 320.65 Mbps and a latency of only 18 ms.
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Among all the ISPs, AT&T Fiber recorded the highest network consistency. A hefty 95.2% of its data packet samples met or surpassed the threshold of 25 Mbps for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads. The only area where AT&T Fiber came in second was in fixed gaming experience. In this category, Verizon was tops, followed by AT&T, Xfinity, Cox, and Spectrum.
Users of Speedtest rated AT&T Fiber as the top ISP in the US, giving it a score of 3.63 out of 5. In second place was Verizon with a score of 3.43, followed by Xfinity at 2.99, Spectrum at 2.86, and Cox at 2.77.
