According to figures released by testing firm RootMetrics, nearly five full months into the new year, AT&T 5G still holds an advantage over rival carriers when it comes to 5G speeds. However, these rivals are also increasing their speeds, especially Verizon 5G, which is closing the gap. [Root Metrics released today (May 26) a partial report on the state of 5G performance. The Root Metrics study measured 5G speeds, availability, and reliability in 65 of the 125 most populous metropolitan areas in the US.

RootMetrics typically releases a semi-annual report on network performance, and in its most recent study covering the second half of 2020, AT&T came out on top for 5G speeds. Today's release is a progress report of sorts, with AT&T still in the lead based on testing in these 65 markets.

AT&T recorded the highest speeds in what RootMetrics calls "Everyday 5G," which combines test results from both 5G-only and mixed 5G modes (switching between 5G and LTE during the same data transmission). (In fact, in 14 of the 20 cities recently tested, AT&T's median download speed improved. [The problem for AT&T is that speeds are improving for other carriers as well. In particular, Verizon posted the fastest daily 5G download speeds in more cities than its two competitors, narrowing the gap with AT&T's overall lead; according to RootMetrics, Verizon's speeds reflect improvements since it put its nationwide 5G network into operation last October and has surpassed T-Mobile surpassed T-Mobile in terms of speeds, according to the company.

But the 5G speed news is not all bad for T-Mobile, which saw median download speeds improve in 19 of the 20 cities RootMetrics recently tested, compared to the carrier's 5G performance in the second half of last year, building an ultra-capacity 5G network that will leverage Sprint's 5G bandwidth to improve speeds across T-Mobile's 5G network; T-Mobile aims to deploy ultra-capacity 5G nationwide by the end of 2020.

The latest report from Route Metrics has something for everyone if you look beyond speed: T-Mobile trails both AT&T and Verizon in the Everday 5G download speed category, but is ahead of the competition when it comes to 5G availability. T-Mobile trails both AT&T and Verizon in the Everday 5G download speed category. Of the cities surveyed, T-Mobile has over 90% 5G availability in five cities, while AT&T achieves it in just one city; in Oklahoma City, according to RootMetrics, T-Mobile has nearly 100% availability of 5G connections.

Verizon, on the other hand, led the pack in 5G reliability, which measures the success rate of getting and staying connected to a carrier's 5G network. Big Red had the best reliability in 19 of the 20 cities recently tested, putting Verizon ahead of AT&T in the reliability rankings.

RootMetrics' latest report is only a partial picture of the 5G landscape for the first half of 2021. More definitive numbers will be available later this summer. Still, it gives an idea of how the 5G market is shaping up today as carriers work to improve 5G speeds and reach.

This is important to know because for many people, even those with 5G-enabled phones, the full benefits of 5G have not yet been realized. Speeds are faster than LTE on average, but not outstandingly so. And while carriers have launched 5G nationwide, the faster network standard is not as widespread as LTE; numbers like those released by RootMetrics show that while progress is being made, 5G still has a long way to go.