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AT&T's 5G E Falls Short of T-Mobile and Verizon 4G Speeds: OpenSignal (venturebeat.com)
AT&T's "5G Evolution" cellular service isn't just controversial and arguably misleading, it's also slower than the 4G speeds offered by rivals T-Mobile and Verizon, according to a new report today from OpenSignal. From a report: Over a one-month period spanning January 28 through February 26, OpenSignal compared the average performance of "5G E capable" phones and "all others" on AT&T's network with similarly equipped devices on T-Mobile's, Verizon's, and Sprint's networks -- a fair test in that all four of the major U.S. carriers have deployed pre-5G, late-stage 4G technologies across the country. Only Sprint's network fell behind AT&T's performance, though that's no surprise, as the fourth-place carrier's network has lagged behind its rivals in performance for years.
I've been on Sprint for nearly 2 decades now despite them being the "worst" carrier because, aside from a short 1-year stint in a rental apartment, I've been fortunate to live and work in places where they had great service. Right now my home is close enough to one of their towers that I use my phone as a hotspot whenever my home Internet goes down. I typically get 25-40 Mbps from them at home, which is actually close to double the national average speed for Verizon and T-Mobile. And I'm on an ancient grandfathered plan with unlimited data and no hotspot restriction, so am extremely reluctant to switch carriers.