Verizon has the fastest LTE network in western regions of the United States, while its up-and-coming rival T-Mobile has the top speeds throughout the east coast, according to a recent study by OpenSignal, which crowdsourced signal data from nearly 170,000 smartphone users who downloaded the OpenSignal app.

opensignal regions
OpenSignal divided the United States into five regions—the Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and West—and found that Verizon had the fastest LTE speeds in the West and Midwest, while T-Mobile was tops in the Northeast and Southeast. Verizon and T-Mobile had a statistical tie in the Southwest.

Verizon had an average download speed of 20 Mbps in the Midwest, for example, compared to 18.4 Mbps for T-Mobile. Meanwhile, in the Northeast, T-Mobile's average download speed was 18.6 Mbps versus 17 Mbps for Verizon. OpenSignal's testing was completed in the fourth quarter of 2016.

opensignal lte speeds by region
LTE speeds among all "Big Four" carriers in the United States, namely AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, were fastest in the Midwest overall, while lowest in the Southwest, said OpenSignal.

The geographical breakdown is a follow-up to OpenSignal's latest State of Mobile Networks report published last week. The original report, which included a city-by-city breakdown, found Verizon had the faster network in a number of major cities, including Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.

Top Rated Comments

I7guy Avatar
109 months ago
I'm more interested in coverage in remote locations, like the Grand Canyon, than a minute difference in speed in populated areas.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AlliFlowers Avatar
109 months ago
I'm more interested in coverage in remote locations, like the Grand Canyon, than a minute difference in speed in populated areas.
I was thinking similarly. When I last had T-Mo, I had very little coverage on my most traveled routes. I want coverage.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BaccoE Avatar
109 months ago
I was thinking similarly. When I last had T-Mo, I had very little coverage on my most traveled routes. I want coverage.
I used to think that way. But since I live in NYC, I decided to not let the tail wag the dog and left ATT for T-Mobile and haven't regretted it at all.

However, for those that travel often in remote areas or live there, I totally understand.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ehrens Avatar
109 months ago
The posts about availability are spot-on. T-Mobile is spotty at best (at least outside of this urban core), LTE or no, and Verizon LTE seems to be everywhere. I would rather put up with a slower speed around my home if it means 4G is broadly available when I travel.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
shamino Avatar
109 months ago
As for availability, I went camping with a bunch of friends a while ago and was a little bummed when everyone with Verizon still had coverage and I did not with T-Mobile. Then I realized that I was camping! The whole point was to get away from everything and "disconnect" for a while. I admit that it was difficult to not have service but in the end I am glad.
That's all well and good when you're sitting around the campfire swapping stories.

Now what about when the weekend is over and you'd like to use Google Maps to figure out how to get home again? Or if you got lost hiking and would like to use your phone to find your way back to the campsite?

There are plenty of reasons why you want signal even in the wilderness that do not include people wanting 24/7 access to their social media feeds.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
btrach144 Avatar
109 months ago
The difference in speed of T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T is just 2-4 Mbps. You likely wouldn't notice a difference. The takeaway here is that Sprint is much slower and we should continue avoiding Sprint.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's Upcoming Macs Listed in New Report

Thursday July 3, 2025 9:09 am PDT by
AppleInsider's Marko Zivkovic today shared a list of alleged identifiers for future Mac models, which should roll out over the next year or so. The report does not reveal anything too surprising, but it does serve as further evidence that Apple is seemingly working on new models of every Mac, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. Apple is...
Future M5 Chip Devices

M5 Chip Rumored to Debut in These Five Apple Products Later This Year

Friday July 4, 2025 9:14 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation M5 chip is expected to debut in five new products later this year, including the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac. M5 chips will reportedly be manufactured with TSMC's latest third-generation 3nm process, which should result in slight performance and power efficiency improvements over M4 chips fabricated with its second-generation 3nm process. ...