AT&T Named 2019's Fastest U.S. Mobile Network in Annual PCMag Carrier Showdown

AT&T is the fastest mobile network in the United States according to PCMag's latest annual mobile network comparison, which was released this morning.

For the test, PCMag employees drove through 30 cities and 25 states across the U.S. and ran more than 60,000 mobile speed tests to determine the speediest mobile network. The tests were conducted using Samsung Galaxy S10 devices on networks from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint.

fastestmobilenetworks2019pcmag
This year, AT&T edged out Verizon, the winner for the past five years, thanks to AT&T's focus on improving its LTE network in preparation for 5G technology. While all four networks improved overall on both speed and reliability compared to last year, AT&T improved a bit more than the others.

4gdownloadspeeds2019
AT&T won or tied for first place in 15 of the 30 cities tested, and it tied or came out on top in all rural regions. AT&T was on top overall in the northwest, southwest, north central, and northeast, while Verizon won in the south central region and T-Mobile came out ahead in the southeast.

attmap1
AT&T has been making improvements to its 4G network and has been labeling those 4G enhancements as "5GE," but really it's the same 4G LTE technology offered by other wireless companies as well. Still, these efforts to improve the 4G network ahead of 5G have led to overall speed boosts for AT&T customers.

The full results of PCMag's 2019 mobile carrier speed testing can be found over on the PCMag website.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Dark Blue and Orange

iPhone 17 Release Date, Pre-Orders, and What to Expect

Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall. At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
Alleged iPhone 17 Pro Antenna Design

Two All-New iPhone 17 Colors Seemingly Confirmed

Monday August 25, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple will offer the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max in a new orange color, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman made the claim in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, adding that the new iPhone 17 Air – replacing the iPhone 16 Plus – will come in a new light blue color. We've heard multiple rumors about a new iPhone 17 Pro color being a shade of orange. The ...
Awe Dropping Apple Event Feature

Five Things to Expect From Apple's 'Awe Dropping' September 9 Event

Tuesday August 26, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by
Apple today announced its "Awe Dropping" iPhone-centric event, which is set to take place on Tuesday, September 9 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. There are a long list of products that are coming, but we thought we'd pull out five feature highlights to look forward to. That Super Thin iPhone - Apple's September 9 event will see the unveiling of the first redesigned iPhone we've had in years, ...
awe dropping event

Apple Event Announced for September 9: 'Awe Dropping'

Tuesday August 26, 2025 9:01 am PDT by
Apple will hold its annual iPhone-centric event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, according to an announcement that went out today. The event will start at 10:00 a.m., with select members of the media invited to attend. At the September 2025 iPhone event, Apple will unveil the iPhone 17 lineup, which includes an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air. It...
Awe Dropping Apple Event Feature

Apple Event Logo Hints at Two iPhone 17 Pro Features

Wednesday August 27, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
Apple's logo for its upcoming September 9 event hints at two rumored iPhone 17 Pro features, including new color options and a vapor chamber cooling system. Of course, this is all just speculation for fun, as we count down the final days until the event. New Colors Last month, Macworld's Filipe Espósito reported that orange and dark blue would be two out of the five color options...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3: Four Key Design Changes Anticipated

Tuesday August 26, 2025 4:05 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022 other than a shift from Lightning to USB-C, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple will launch AirPods Pro 3 later this year, and apart from new features like heart rate monitoring, we're also expecting a few design changes. The fourth‑generation AirPods offer useful clues to Apple's design cues for ...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Centered 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 12 New Features

Sunday August 24, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max should be unveiled in a few more weeks, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman corroborated a rumor that iPhone 17 Pro models will be "available in an orange color." Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are...

Top Rated Comments

sundog925 Avatar
81 months ago
Fast doesn't mean reliable.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unity451 Avatar
81 months ago
Too bad their Customer Service is awful.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BootsWalking Avatar
81 months ago
When AT&T is fast, it's fast. But when you're in a bad reception or congested area, no matter if it's in the middle of a big city, then you'll be cursing your iPhone like it was the 3G. I've called them countless times to see when they plan new towers in the areas I have trouble and they never have an answer for me.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macduke Avatar
81 months ago
I mean, T-Mobile is more than capable when you consider the price, and it doesn't even throttle you until you get to 50GB. The difference isn't that big, especially on a phone. They're all so fast now that I consider price, data caps and coverage to be more important.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
genegraygsm Avatar
81 months ago
Very interesting. I would disagree a little bit with this map. SoCal's AT&T service is horrible. When I was in west TX, AT&T was king and had better service. I have a feeling this is based on the major cities skewing the number. Although, everywhere I've gone I always had a Verizon Signal. Maybe AT&T is finally figuring out their over congestion. We will see what happens with the new 5G network continues to roll out and measure those download speeds. :)
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WannaGoMac Avatar
81 months ago
Where I am AT&T is the CRAPPIEST cell network...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)