Historically, the early days of any next-generation mobile platform rollout have featured significant disparities in coverage, as one or more operators moved earlier, and with distinct spectrum assets.
5G is proving more disparate than in the past, as leading U.S. mobile operators have distinct spectrum asset profiles. Verizon has deployed millimeter wave assets more heavily in downtown core areas, compared to AT&T and T-Mobile, and that shows up in speed tests.
AT&T has arguably been the most challenged in use of low-band coverage spectrum, while T-Mobile will enjoy a period of supremacy in use of mid-band spectrum.
Eventually, however, those differences will narrow, as has been the case for earlier mobile generations. Though marketing battles will be intense in the near term, present differences will become far less pronounced in the long term (defined here as five to 10 years), before 6G starts to be deployed.
Though some customers may jump around a bit to gain a perceived advantage in network performance “right now,” over the longer term all the three leading networks should feature similar coverage and performance.
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