Verizon is the fastest wireless service provider in the U.S., according to the second U.S. State RootScore Reports RootMetrics released Tuesday.
Aside from getting top marks for overall network performance within California, Verizon Wireless also got the highest scores for Data and Call, Speed and Reliability performance in the state. In 47 other states, Verizon also tied or won the RootScore Overall Network Performance Award, winning more awards than any of the over carriers in the Overall Performance category and Call and Data, Speed and Reliability performance categories.
RootMetrics is an independent mobile analytics firm. It said the report is the most comprehensive test on mobile networks that has been completed and published by third-party testers at the moment. The scores were the result of tests administered between January and June 2014 which ranked four major wireless providers in the country according to six categories. Text, Call, Data, Speed, Reliability and Overall network performance. A total of 5.6 million samples were collected for the report.
"Verizon has done well with the quick deployment of their AWS network. A year ago AT&T was speeding up, while Verizon was slowing down. There's always an ebb and flow as new networks eventually carry more load," said RootMetrics President Bill Moore in an interview.
In an effort to provide speedier service, Verizon expanded its network's capacity by using AWS airwaves. The upgrade was part of the company's capital spending plans for 2013 which reflected a focus on quality instead of competing on price and flexibility like other carriers.
In 2013, Verizon was lagging behind in network speed compared to AT&T based on earlier RootMetrics reports. This year, Verizon reaped the benefits of its network upgrade to come out on top as the overall leader. T-Mobile, the fourth-largest wireless service provider in the country, offered the second-fastest speeds compared to what Verizon was offering in city locations
Despite being ranked last or second-to-the-last in all other categories for the RootMetrics report, T-Mobile may still be a threat to Verizon and AT&T given its network speed performance. The carrier is already gaining attention thanks to its marketing efforts so people are interested in what T-Mobile can offer. If things go as analysts predict, T-Mobile is looking at adding up to 3.5 million postpaid subscribers by the end of the year.
Sprint isn't dropping out of the race just yet either as it plans to double the data it is offering on shared plans. This means up to 10 mobile phone lines can share 20GB of data for just $100 a month as a Sprint subscriber.
