Opensignal has conducted the most comprehensive analysis of smartphone users’ 5G mobile experience across the US, including all 50 states and as many as 250 cities in this new study. The new report shows users of 5G phones on the East Coast generally had a better 5G experience, followed by users on the West Coast and in the Great Lakes region.
People in New Jersey enjoy best 5G experiences
5G users in New Jersey enjoyed some of the best 5G experiences as the state featured in the top five across three out of the four metrics Opensignal analysed: 5G availability, download 5G speed, and 5G games experience. The state of New York had the fastest 5G download speed and best 5G games experience, and was in the top third of the table for 5G availability and 5G video experience.
California was one of the best states for 5G availability as it scored 24.7%, but its results were lower on other 5G measures compared with other states. 5G users in Illinois and Texas experienced the best 5G availability we measured across the 50 states. However, while Illinois also placed relatively highly in the remaining categories, Texas scored middle of the table in 5G download speed, placed in the lower third in 5G video experience, while scoring one of the lowest 5G games experience scores.
People in Illinois and Texas spend most time connected to 5G
Given that the US generally places among the top countries for 5G, time spent with an active 5G connection across the 50 states varied greatly. 5G users in Illinois and Texas experienced the joint highest 5G availability of 27.6% and 27%, respectively. Nevada, Hawaii, New Jersey and Rhode Island also passed the 25% mark, while 5G users in an additional 21 US states spent more than 20% of their time with an active 5G connection.
5G urban-rural mobile experience divide
Interestingly, Opensignal compared 5G availability with demographic data from the US Census Bureau and found that users on average spent a higher proportion of time with an active 5G connection in states having a higher percentage of urban population.
“Mobile operators have been focusing on deploying their 5G networks in highly-populated states.”
Opensignal.
“Our data therefore suggests that mobile operators have been focusing on deploying their 5G networks in highly-populated states where the vast majority of the population lives in urban areas. This means people in less populated states, or those with a significant rural population like Maine and West Virginia, will likely have to wait further before seeing 5G bridge the urban-rural mobile experience divide.”
New York state has fastest 5G download speed
5G users in the state of New York were the only ones in the Opensignal study to experience average downloads speeds above 100 Mbps when they connected to 5G networks. However, although Maryland and New Jersey came very close to achieve the three-digit mark with their respective download speeds of 99.8 Mbps and 98.3 Mbps.
- Why 5G small cells are vital for mmWave 5G
- Get updates on the hottest 5G stocks
- Discover the truth behind 5G dangers
- 5G towers: everything you need to know
