Sprint’s call quality is getting better, T-Mobile is improving its data speeds, and Verizon is still the overall highest-performing carrier.
Those are some of the results from RootMetrics’ newest study, which examined the four largest U.S. carriers during the second half of 2014. The Seattle-based wireless metrics company performed 5.7 million tests across nearly 300,000 miles to come up with its data for the past six months.
“While Verizon and AT&T top the charts, all networks are getting better,” the company noted. “We saw improvements across the board in data speed and data reliability, which are fast becoming keys to everyday mobile experience. The biggest improvement stories belong to T-Mobile and, especially, Sprint with its marked call improvement.”
RootMetrics found that Verizon once again came out on top for network reliability and network speed, in addition to data and cell performance. AT&T was close behind in second place in every category except text performance, where it finished first.
Sprint, meanwhile, passed T-Mobile on a statewide and nationwide performance basis after finishing fourth in the August 2014 rankings, thanks in some part to improved call and text quality. However, T-Mobile still finished ahead of Sprint for speeds on a city level during the last six months, in addition to network speed and data performance.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere, who unleashed a tweetstorm that slammed Sprint in August, tweeted this about the RootMetrics study:
Not a fan of @RootMetrics’ methodology – we prefer real customer data and they're telling us that we’re kicking ass where they are.
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) February 10, 2015
If @RootMetrics’ data is interesting to you, then just look at @TMobile taking 1st in the speed and text categories in the top 30 metros.
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) February 10, 2015
Sprint made headlines last week after it inked a deal with RadioShack, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, to set up a “store-within-a-store” concept in 1,750 existing RadioShack locations. The company is still the third-largest wireless carrier in the U.S., but T-Mobile is inching closer thanks to a record-breaking 2014.
Check out the full RootMetrics report here.