It's Hard to Say Which Provider Has the "Fastest" Network

Any Internet user’s perception of access speed is highly contingent. Though many users shift from mobile access to Wi-Fi in part because they expect better performance, that might not actually be the case, most of the time.

In early 2015, for example. global Long Term Evolution access speeds were faster than Wi-Fi by quite some measure, according to OpenSignal.

Speed also is highly contingent on network loading. A new network, lightly loaded, will be faster than that same network, over time, as more users are added. So possession of the marketing moniker “fastest network” always will be fleeting.

Results vary based on where the tests are conducted, which network (4G or 3G) is tested, the time of day, the specific cell tower, the test devices and the apps being used to test access speed.

Verizon often leads in measures of “speed” or coverage. But such rankings drift over time.

Sprint now is arguing it will, in a couple of years, have the fastest U.S. network.