MIAMI (WSVN) - It can affect your ability to watch that latest viral video, upload your beach selfies, or even to just send a simple text. Nothing frustrates a smartphone user faster than a slow network speed.
PC Mag has released the results of their eighth annual “Fastest Mobile Networks” survey, which determines which carrier is the best in your area. The publication conducted its data speed tests on AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon Wireless in 36 U.S. cities and areas, including Miami.
While Verizon earned top marks overall in the U.S., they were the runners-up to T-Mobile in Miami.
According to PC Mag, which tested signals in multiple spots throughout Miami-Dade County, “T-Mobile notched an unequivocal win this year in Miami, with the highest upload and download speeds, and the lowest latency.”
While all carriers showed improvements over 2017, Verizon took the top spot nationwide for the fifth consecutive year, winning or tying in 20 of the 36 cities and areas tested.
“Verizon’s repeated wins show the advantage of being one of the original wireless carriers, with prime spectrum held since the 1980s,” the magazine wrote. “But T-Mobile’s strong second-place showing, winning or tying 15 of our 36 awards, shows there’s another way—grabbing new spectrum when it’s available and building out smartly. T-Mobile has been acquiring spectrum in nearly every auction for the past decade.”
AT&T came in third, with Sprint coming in fourth.
“AT&T had the second-highest average download speeds nationwide, but the company has recently focused on building a network that goes beyond phones, for smart cities, smart homes, and smart cars,” they noted. “That means availability and coverage is more important for the carrier than speed.”
While it may not look like good news for Sprint, the magazine said the carrier got penalized for prioritizing downloads rather than uploads.
“If we were only rating by downloads, like some other organizations do, we could hand out some shiny trophies to Sprint right now,” they said.
For more on the survey’s methodology or to read the results for the rest of the country, click here.
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