Ookla studies now claim that AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all have the best 5G network

There are awards for phone carriers, too. RootMetrics, owned by Ookla, the parent company of SpeedTest, recently conducted independent testing to determine its carrier awards. And the results are in. The winner is…*drum roll*…everyone.

Interestingly, from the reports that are coming out, multiple carriers are claiming they topped the list, in some way or another. Verizon says it won Best 5G, Fastest 5G, and Most Reliable 5G. AT&T claims it’s been awarded the “fastest and most reliable wireless network”.

Everyone gets an award

RootMetrics, according to Verizon, is “the nation’s most rigorous, independent scientific study”. It collects and disseminates info about mobile carrier performance. RootMetrics recently gave Verizon its eighth consecutive national 5G reliability award, along with a Metro Area RootScore Award. This is the carrier’s 874th RootScore Award, which is, in Verizon’s words, “70% more awards than the closest competitor.”

The carrier claims the award was made possible by a couple of “recent efforts” it made. These include an expansion of the 5G network in an attempt to cover as many people as possible. It also apparently made its satellite backup connectivity more reliable. The company also deployed “5G advanced technologies” and a 5G Standalone Core which helped with enhancing the network’s speed and performance.

AT&T has also come out with similar stats announcing its recent title of “the fastest and most reliable mobile carrier network in the U.S.” It proudly adds that this is on top of AT&T Fiber being crowned as “America’s fastest internet with the most reliable speeds” in a recent Speedtest Connectivity Report conducted by Ookla.

As if this wasn’t confusing enough, very recently, T-Mobile announced that it won the “fastest and most consistent 5G network in the US” award in the recent Speedtest Connectivity Report. This report was based on results collected from July 2024 through December 2024.

None of these carriers are lying about anything. They’ve each just found a clever way to rephrase the results in a way that makes them look like the best phone carrier in the US. Ultimately, the best carrier for you depends on your own unique set of habits, locations, and devices. Your best bet is to see for yourself by taking advantage of free eSIM trials offered by AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.