Which wireless carrier is best?

For the fifth consecutive testing period, Verizon’s network was rated No. 1 in overall network performance among the four national wireless companies in the United States by RootMetrics in its National Rootscore® Report released today. Verizon also won, for the fourth consecutive time, the Overall RootScore award in Virginia, plus ranked first in data, call, speed and reliability, and tied for first in text performance.

RootMetrics is an independent mobile analytics firm that uses off-the-shelf consumer smartphones to physically test a wireless network’s capabilities in a number of categories across various geographies. Scores are based on RootMetrics drive tests – and 6,607 indoor location tests – conducted across 232,000 miles in all 50 states, including 125 metro areas, from July through December 2015. The company evaluated all four U.S. wireless companies in six network performance categories: overall, reliability, speed, data, call, and text performance.

This latest report rated the Verizon Wireless network as first in five categories and tied for first in a sixth. In addition to overall network performance, Verizon was ranked highest for the fifth consecutive testing period in reliability, data and call performance. Verizon also won network speed performance for the fourth consecutive time, and shared a first-place ranking in text performance.

In this report, Verizon increased award counts in Network Reliability and Text RootScore, winning or sharing 272 total State RootScore Awards versus 253 during the 1H 2015 report. Verizon outranks all competitors, ranking first or tied for first with the most wins/ties in six state categories:

· 46 states for Overall Performance (vs. 11 wins/ties for nearest competitors)

· 47 states for Network Reliability (vs. 20 win/ties for nearest competitors)

· 44 states for Data Performance (vs. 9 win/ties for nearest competitors)

· 41 states for Network Speed (vs. 10 win/ties for nearest competitors)

· 45 states for Call Performance (vs. 23 win/ties for nearest competitors)

· 49 states for Text Performance, (including the most outright wins at 10)

“We’re pleased that a 5th straight overall RootMetrics ranking has the Verizon network at the top, but our focus already has turned to winning number six – because our customers depend on us to be even better tomorrow,” said Mike Haberman, vice president-network for Verizon. “Right now, our teams are assessing how we can enhance network performance across the country.

And because we know customers and businesses rely on Verizon to reliably connect more than ever, we’re accelerating our deployment of new technologies to continue to improve our network ahead of growing demand.”

Network reliability is a product of engineering. Verizon continues to enhance its network by aggressively deploying new technology such as LTE Advanced and carrier aggregation – which uses software to combine multiple network channels running on different spectrum bands into one big pipe – to significantly increase sustained speeds for customers. Add in the continuing deployment of small cells and distributed antenna systems, plus expanding XLTE coverage to effectively double the available 4G LTE network bandwidth, and cities nationwide should continue to see faster peak speeds and increased network capacity for data-hungry consumer and business customers.

Verizon’s focus on network also is evident in the newest Metro Area RootScore reports, where Verizon increased its number of total awards. In all, Verizon won or tied for 597 Metro Area RootScore awards. Verizon’s wireless network was also recognized by RootMetrics as earning or sharing the most first place rankings among the nation’s top airports in the second half of 2015, with 25 Data RootScore Awards.