Richmond’s best mobile network

T-Mobile was deemed the best mobile network in the country, PCMag found in its annual analysis of Best Mobile Networks.

• And that ranking extends to Richmond, Sascha Segan, PCMag’s mobile analyst, told Axios.

Context: The tech publication has been testing mobile networks nationwide for 13 years. Experts drove across the country with the latest 5G phones to observe AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon’s performance in 30 cities and six rural regions.

Zoom in: Richmond wasn’t one of the cities tested, but a PCMag driver took a straight shot down I-95 on their way from D.C. to North Carolina, with a pit stop in town, Segan said, and collected about two hours of data in town.

What they found: Richmond looks a lot like other southern cities when it comes to mobile download and upload speeds — and T-Mobile was the fastest, just as it is Baltimore, Raleigh and Charlotte (it’s AT&T in D.C.).

• AT&T was ranked second in those three cities.
• Verizon, third.

What they're saying: “T-Mobile was the fastest carrier by a long shot, with a maximum download speed of 668 mbps in Richmond and a maximum upload speed of 119 mbps,” Segan told Axios.

Yes, but: The data collected in Richmond was limited, Segan cautioned, and does not extend to rural areas, where PCMag found Verizon still reigns supreme.

The intrigue: T-Mobile’s "5G UC” system — the fastest of the fast in network speeds — is up and running in Richmond, Segan said, which helped propel T-Mobile to the top spot.

• That system was likely launched to support T-Mobile’s $50 a month home internet service, which apparently exists in Richmond.