AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile? Maps show which cell provider gives your area best coverage
(NEXSTAR) – Considering changing your wireless carrier to get better service? You may want to check this map first.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created an interactive map comparing coverage from cell providers. We took a closer look at the coverage from the three largest companies, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.
Looking at the country as a whole, Verizon and AT&T have the most coverage, with 55.05% and 55.11% of the country covered, respectively. While Verizon has some gaps in coverage around Nevada, Utah, Oklahoma, and Kentucky, AT&T's gaps appear to be in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile covers 35.3% of the country, according to the FCC. Its coverage looks stronger in the eastern half of the country than it does out west.
When it comes to the fastest 5G coverage the FCC tracks (5G-NR, 35/3 Mbps), the tables are turned. T-Mobile has the broadest geographic coverage of the three largest providers.
Granted, the maps for all three are much spottier. T-Mobile's fast 5G reaches about 12.5% of the country, AT&T's is at 10.9%, and Verizon's is at 8.1%.
While Verizon looks strongest around major cities, California and the East Coast, AT&T looks better in the Upper Midwest and South. T-Mobile's coverage is spread evenly around the map, with gaps peppered in everywhere, but especially the more sparsely populated parts of the West and Plains states.
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To compare coverage options in your area, type in your address on the FCC's interactive map. Then, tap or click the "Mobile Broadband" option in the right rail. A chart will pop up with the cell provider options in your area, with checkmarks next to each if they have 4G or 5G speeds in that area.
You can also zoom in on the map and compare providers' 5G coverage head-to-head by clicking here to open the map, then toggling the companies' names on and off in the right rail.
You can compare 4G LTE coverage by clicking here, then zooming in and out on the map.
The FCC map was updated using data collected up to Dec. 31, 2022.
"The coverage areas reflect where consumers should be able to connect to the mobile network when outdoors or in a moving vehicle; they do not show indoor coverage," an agency spokesperson told Nexstar.
See more about how the map was made and how to use it on the FCC's website here.