What's better, AT&T or T-Mobile?

AT&T and T-Mobile are two of the biggest mobile providers in the United States of America. When trying to decide which is the better option, there are several key factors to consider:

Network coverage and reliability:

T-Mobile has been in the market for a relatively shorter period than AT&T Internet and its network coverage area is comparably less than the coverage area of AT&T across the country. However, in the recent past, T-Mobile has invested and grown its 4G LTE network to reach more than 98% of Americans. For 5G coverage though, AT&T remained a leader having approximately 80% coverage up to the population in contrast to T-Mobile’s 40% as of 2021.

In other general network performance rankings that include RootMetrics and J.D. Power, AT&T, and T-Mobile are usually closely ranked. Nevertheless, occasionally there is a variation and AT&T scores slightly higher.

Thus, if we are to go with the largest coverage and particularly focus on the rural areas, it may likely be AT&T. However, it is important to note that T-Mobile’s market share is not far behind in major metropolitan areas.

Plans and pricing:

In the last few years, T-Mobile has been heavily advertising their “Un-carrier” campaigns, eliminating annual contracts and charges for going over their limits. They have pushed the other major carriers to offer similar contract-free no-fuss plans with unlimited talk/text and transparent pricing.

For single-line subscribers, T-Mobile’s monthly plans are typically cheaper for similar amounts of unlimited data than AT&T, single-line. But AT&T can be cheaper when taking family plans and when bundled with other AT&T home services such as internet or TV services.

As additional features, both carriers include such benefits as access to streaming services, international data usage, hot spot data, and device financing for the latest mobile phones. Finally, the details of the data amount required and any bundling at all will define which carrier is cheaper to go with.

Phone selection and deals:

The phones available in the AT&T and T-Mobile plans are more or less the same and include all the new iPhones, Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, and other big brands such as LG and Motorola among others. Each of the carriers periodically provides new phone offers for new customers, such as hundreds of dollars in rebates when switching from another device or signing up for additional lines. However, some special models may only be available or have better deals with one carrier than with another.

Customer and tech support:

For instance, both ACSI and JD Power customer satisfaction surveys reveal that T-Mobile has a slightly higher rating than AT&T in terms of customer service experience and support responsiveness. Some of this may be due to the attitude that T-Mobile has towards marketing as well as its approach to billing as opposed to simply targeting large corporate clients for their high revenues. However, the scope of AT&T’s service department as a telecom conglomerate is difficult to compete with for any mobile-first operator like T-Mobile.

Finally, in most instances, choosing a carrier for owning the mobile service depends on the plan configuration and the price especially if none of the carriers’ networks has domination in the frequently visited places. Ensuring we get the data amounts required at the cheapest price possible that is tenable is quite understandable. Regardless of which network one chooses both will suffice in fulfilling the needs of most consumers in large coverage locations.

However, current single-line customers are better off with T-Mobile in terms of single-line costs, price and billing transparency, and higher-rated customer service. However, AT&T can respond with a broader coverage extent, superior rural signal particularly with 5G around the corner, and certain edges in family plans or while combining products. The decision of which promotion is the most intelligent should be made based on how it aligns with your data needs when examining the latest promotions.

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