According to a recent report by research firm Opensignal, AT&T and Verizon’s 5G data speeds significantly increased after the carriers were given permission to boost the power levels of their C-band spectrum close to airports at the start of July. Furthermore, both companies increased the available C-band spectrum in the region. First, a little history. Everything began with T-Mobile’s acquisition of Sprint for $26 billion, a transaction that allowed T-Mobile to obtain Sprint’s stash of mid-band 2.5GHz spectrum.
As AT&T and Verizon began constructing their 5G networks, T-Mobile made use of the mid-band spectrum that it had acquired from Sprint. AT&T and Verizon faced a slower roll-out due to the high-band characteristics; although mmWave signals offer faster download speeds, their reach is limited. Higher data speeds are nice, but what use are they if few of your customers can actually connect to them?
Using Sprint’s mid-band spectrum, T-Mobile became the first company in the US to launch 5G.
As for wireless, mid-band turned out to be the Goldilocks of the bunch. While mid-band signals are not as fast as high-band ones, they can still cover a longer distance than mmWave. T-Mobile was able to link more of its customers to faster 5G signals as a result. AT&T and Verizon combined spent $68 billion to acquire licenses to use mid-band spectrum in the C-band after realizing what was happening.
There was just a tiny issue. Airport-proximate aircraft altimeters were disrupted by a portion of the C-band spectrum that Verizon and AT&T were able to receive. The reason AT&T and Verizon had to lower the strength of their 5G signals near airports during the retrofitting of planes with new altimeters was because this instrument informs pilots of the exact altitude of the aircraft they are flying.
This July 1st, AT&T and Verizon received permission to add more C-band spectrum to the area and boost the power levels of their C-band 5G services. Two distinct 90-day periods were measured by Opensignal. First, it began on April 1st and continued until shortly before the two carriers were given permission to increase the power levels. The second 90-day period began on August 1st and spans the time when the airport mitigation measures were lessened. Twenty American airports’ center points were within two miles of where the data was gathered.
The data indicated that following the easing of mitigation efforts, AT&T and Verizon significantly increased their 5G download data speeds. 5G download speeds increased by 79.6% for AT&T and 62.1% for Verizon. At 126.9-132.2 Mbps, Opensignal referred to the pair’s average 5G download speed as a “statistical tie”. Though T-Mobile’s advantage over AT&T and Verizon in terms of speed at these airports narrowed, the carrier’s 5G download data speeds did not change in the vicinity of these 20 airports.
T-Mobile had the fastest 5G download data speed in 16 of the 20 airports where data was collected.
Prior to AT&T and Verizon being permitted to implement additional C-band spectrum and boost 5G power levels on their C-band service close to the 20 airports, T-Mobile’s average 5G download speeds were 2.1 times faster than those of Verizon and 2.4 times faster than those of AT&T. Following the relaxation of the mitigation, T-Mobile’s advantage has shrunk to 32-37.5%.
Nevertheless, the outcomes differ significantly based on the airport you examine. Customers of AT&T, for instance, get the fastest average 5G download speeds at Boston Logan International, at 130.2 Mbps, statistically tying T-Mobile’s 114.8 Mbps. AT&T led the pack at Chicago O’Hare International with an average 5G download speed of 193.6 Mbps, followed by T-Mobile in third place with an average speed of 49.6 Mbps.
The average 5G download data speeds at some airports, like George Bush Intercontinental in Texas, vary greatly from one another. With an average speed of 120.6 Mbps, T-Mobile leads the pack at that airport; AT&T comes in second with an average of 36.4 Mbps, statistically tied with Verizon’s 29.6 Mbps.
T-Mobile had the fastest average 5G download data speeds at 16 of the 20 airports included in the study, during the August through October period. Verizon had the fastest average 5G download data speed at one airport, while AT&T came in second place with the fastest average at three airports.
Among the 20 airports were:
Washington, Baltimore Marshall Thurgood
Boston Logan
Douglas, Charlotte
Chicago O’Hare
Dallas-Fort Worth
Denver
Houston George W. Bush International
Las Vegas Jackson, Harry Reid Hartsfield Atlanta
JFK, New York
Los Angeles
Miami
Nashville
Liberty in Newark
Orlando
Phoenix Sky Harbor
Ronald Reagan Washington National
San Diego
San Francisco
Tacoma and Seattle