A new report from wireless analytics site Open Signal shows that T-Mobile's LTE network is getting as good as AT&T and Verizon's.
As of February 2016, T-Mobile subscribers have access to T-Mobile's LTE network 81% of the time when their smartphones are powered on. That's a huge improvement compared to the 59% from February 2014.
By comparison, AT&T subscribers have AT&T's LTE network available for just under 82% of the time, and it looks like that number is trending downwards.
Verizon subscribers have Verizon's LTE network available to them the most at 87% of the time, and it's slowly rising.
To be clear, this doesn't mean that T-Mobile's coverage is equal to AT&T and Verizon's, as can clearly be seen in the coverage maps below:
Still, T-Mobile is rapidly expanding its LTE network. At the end of 2014, T-Mobile's coverage was relatively patch compared to the map from February 2016. T-Mobile's coverage has filled in many of those gaps between major metropolitan areas.
T-Mobile also won accolades for the fastest LTE speeds in the US at 12.27 megabits per second (Mbps), beating Verizon by a narrow margin. To compare, AT&T ranked in third for LTE speeds with just under 8 Mbps, and Sprint came fourth with 6.56 Mbps.
T-Mobile is clearly improving, and even beating AT&T and Verizon in certain areas, like LTE speeds.
AT&T and Verizon are the only realistic options for people who needed extensive coverage, but it seems that could change very soon if T-Mobile stays its course for coverage expansion.
If T-Mobile gets similar coverage as AT&T and Verizon, there will be more competition between US carriers, which is great news for US wireless subscribers. More competition means carriers need to be more competitive with plan pricing, as well as extending their network for better coverage.
