Opensignal research showed Verizon and AT&T closed the gap to rival T-Mobile US in terms of 5G data rates due to deployments in C-Band spectrum, though noted some lag remains.

The company stated AT&T’s use of C-Band increased from 4.6 per cent in March to 30 per cent in September, with its typical 5G download rates increasing from 50Mb/s to 67.3Mb/s

Verizon’s average download rates grew from 70.3Mb/s in March to 81.4Mb/s in September, with C-Band usage up from 16.2 per cent to nearly 49.3 per cent, surpassing the 850MHz band for the first time.

Opensignal asserted AT&T is “narrowing the gap” on Verizon in terms of data rates.

But Opensignal noted AT&T and Verizon still trail T-Mobile, which started deploying 5G in the 2.5GHz band in 2020.

The research company stated 70 per cent of T-Mobile’s 5G traffic was carried on mid-band spectrum by September.

“While Verizon’s C-Band deployment is more mature than AT&T’s, it cannot be complacent as it remains a long way behind T-Mobile in the use of mid-band 5G spectrum”.

Opensignal added its research showed “users on T-Mobile’s network have experienced faster speeds” than its rivals.