T-Mobile subscribers in rural Florida who have access to 5G spend the most time of any state using it rather than LTE, according to a new report by Ookla. AT&T finished second and Verizon third.
The company found that T-Mobile has the largest percentage of 5G users spending time on 5G in both urban and rural markets.
The urban-rural groupings seem odd since there are rural areas in urban states (such as Connecticut) and urban areas in rural states (such as Las Vegas). Ookla used U.S. Census Bureau data to make the urban-rural distinction. The research focused on the second half of last year.
According to the report, the top five states’ percentages of 5G use where available in rural and urban settings were:
- T-Mobile Rural: Florida (83.58%), Connecticut (80.62%), Illinois (80.49%), Delaware (80.39%), and Georgia (80.18%)
- T-Mobile Urban: Illinois (91.86%), Nevada (91.78%), Oklahoma (91.77%), Florida (91.57%), and North Dakota (91.30%).
- AT&T Rural: The top five rural areas using 5G when available: Texas (78.17%), Florida (75.24%), Alabama (74.77%), Louisiana (74.76%), and California (72.81%)
- AT&T Urban: California (92.47%), Florida (91.1%), Nevada (90.92%), Texas (89.91%), and Louisiana (89.45%)
- Verizon Rural: Ohio (56.07%), Arkansas (44.51%), Texas (43.09%), New Jersey (41.8%), and Delaware (40.56%)
- Verizon Urban: Ohio (73.86%), California (67.76%), Nebraska (67.45%), Arkansas (66.26%), and Arizona (66.01%)
The report noted that 5G use in rural areas is likely to increase as urban markets become more saturated and the government becomes involved.
“Although some states boast fairly strong 5G availability in rural areas, there are more efforts underway to improve rural 5G coverage throughout the U.S. In particular, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently established the 5G Fund for Rural America which will enable it to distribute up to $9 billion to wireless service providers to bring 5G service to more than 14 million rural homes and businesses,” wrote Ookla Editorial Director Sue Marek.
Ookla’s Speedtest Connectivity Report, which was released last month and covered last July through September, found that T-Mobile was again the fastest mobile provider in the U.S. across all technologies combined and specifically for 5G.
