All of the big US carriers already have 5G networks up and running, and they are all working hard to make them available everywhere. Some use millimeter-wave (mmWave) technology for faster speeds, while others prefer lower-band spectrums for better range. This post looks at all the 5G towns in the US by carrier and talks about speeds, frequencies, and more.
AT&T and Verizon decided to put their rollouts on hold for a short time in January 2022. However, both companies quickly got back to work. After the break, Verizon also started offering its C-band 5G service in January.
Verizon 5G Cities
Verizon’s 5G network uses high-band millimeter wave (mmWave) waves on the 28GHz and 39GHz bands. That means the network can provide high speeds but isn’t the best at coverage and getting into buildings. This makes it hard, if not impossible, to use 5G indoors.
Eric Zeman, one of our own employees, tried Verizon’s 5G network in Chicago in 2019 and got a peak download speed of 1.256Gbps. To put this in perspective, you can download a 50-minute episode of Stranger Things in about 12 seconds, given the speed.
But we got those results by standing right next to the 5G nodes. The average download speed across the city was 594Mbps, which was much slower but still fast.
The Big Red Network has also started a service called 5G house, which lets you connect your house to its fastest speeds. It is now available in 57 big cities and a few smaller ones across the country.
Verizon has set up 5G in many US cities, and soon more will join the list. The list is too big to include all of them, but you can see a more detailed map of 5G coverage on Verizon’s website.
T-Mobile 5G Cities
Verizon’s 5G network only uses millimeter wave technology. T-Mobile, on the other hand, uses a different method. The company is building its 5G service on its collection of 600MHz spectrum. The 600MHz band, which is also sometimes called Band 71, works much better inside buildings and over longer distances. It isn’t as fast as mmWave, though.
The 5G signal from T-Mobile can be found all over the country. The network was turned on in December 2019, and it covers about 5,000 towns and 200 million people. On T-Mobile’s website, there is a map that shows exactly where 5G is and isn’t available right now.
But the service also has coverage for 39GHz and 28GHz millimeter waves, which it calls Ultra Capacity. It has a much smaller range than Extended Range 5G and can be used in most big towns. A while ago, we tried it out in New York City. Here are the download speeds we got. There are too many towns and cities in Ultra Capacity to name them all, so the best thing to do is look at the map above.
AT&T 5G Cities
The company refers to its 850Mhz network as 5G and its mmWave service as 5G Plus. 5G is available in about 100 cities, while 5G Plus is live in parts of 38 towns.
5G Plus is faster than the other choice because it uses mmWave technology. However, this means it has less coverage and doesn’t go as far into buildings, so it’s hard to use it inside. However, AT&T has been bringing its 5G Plus service to stadiums and ballparks across the country. It hasn’t yet hit every stadium in the country, but it’s on its way.
This map shows all of AT&T’s 5G coverage, with 5G Plus sites marked.
Which Company has the Best 5G Coverage?
It can be hard to tell which company is winning the race to 5G. Each of the big three will talk up its own network and find a way to put itself at the top of a list. So, if you want more reliable information, you should go to a third-party source. This post tell us T-Mobile is still a long way ahead of the competition. It has been updated for January 2023, but it doesn’t look like the raw numbers have moved much.
The same study says that AT&T is in second place, with nearly 30% of the country covered. AT&T was also the only company that had 5G in all 50 states by the end of 2021.
What About the Best mmWave Coverage?
Even though Verizon’s 5G network is the smallest of the big three, it’s not slow. This is because Verizon put its mmWave rollout at the top of its list of priorities. It filled up big cities with short-range towers so that qualifying users could get the best speeds. AT&T is in the middle of the pack when it comes to mmWave. It is building a hybrid network with 5G Plus towers and much larger low-band towers. Even though T-Mobile’s 5G service is by far the most extensive, the Un-Carrier put more effort into its low-band rollout so that it could reach more people at slightly slower speeds.
Is 5G the “norm” Now?
Not really, at least. 5G is becoming more common, and most new devices can use it, but it’s still not the standard. There are still many places where the 5G signal isn’t very strong, and many people still rely mostly on 4G LTE. We also often tell people to turn off 5G to save battery, which is generally a good sign that they don’t need it.
It’s likely that 5G will become the rule in the future, but carriers still have a long way to go. It will also mean that more people will need to use 5G gadgets.
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