Domination. There’s no other word for it.
Verizon swept top honors across all six categories of performance in RootMetric’s latest U.S. network report, marking the first time a carrier has won on all measures since the test began in 2013.
According to the report, RootMetrics tested carrier network performance in six categories: Overall Performance, Network Reliability, Network Speed, Data Performance, Call Performance and Text Performance.
On a national level, Verizon bested the competition handily in each category, in the process earning its sixth consecutive Overall Performance award. AT&T came in a strong second place in five of the six measures, but lost out to Sprint for runner up in Call Performance. T-Mobile snagged third place in both the Network Speed and Data Performance measures, while Sprint earned bronze in Overall Performance, Reliability, and Text Performance.
In metro areas, RootMetrics found both Sprint and T-Mobile were hot on AT&T’s heels, on Sprint’s end thanks to improvements in its LTE networks in those regions. RootMetrics said if Sprint can continue its LTE expansion beyond those urban markets, it could “close the gap with the other networks in multiple categories at the United States level.”
RootMetrics also found Verizon to be dominant on a state level, earning either wins or ties for top honors in at least 40 states in each category for a total of 274 State RootScore Awards. AT&T was once again in second place with 82 state awards, but that total was down from 110 awards in the second half of 2015 thanks to slides in the reliability, call and text categories. T-Mobile for the first time came in third on a state level with 20 awards and Sprint trailed with 11. Sprint, however, did come away with one outright state level award in Nevada.
RootMetrics’ measurements in major metropolitan areas found T-Mobile has made substantial strides in closing the gap with second place AT&T. The Un-carrier boosted its total number of won or shared awards from 17 in the second half of 2015 to 40 in the most recent report, just behind AT&T’s total of 51. Verizon was still far ahead of the pack, though with 98 total metro awards while Sprint languished with 6.
T-Mobile delivered another few standout urban metrics as well in the categories of speed, data and text performance. The Un-carrier tied Verizon for speed with a total of 62 won or shared speed awards in metro markets, and pushed aside AT&T for second place in metro data performance with 53 won or shared awards to Verizon’s 65. T-Mobile was also in second place behind AT&T for text performance in metro markets, beating Verizon’s 100 won or shared awards with a total of 112
According to RootMetrics, the new report was based off nearly 3.7 million drive test samples and 4,200 indoor tests conducted in the first half of 2016.
