A recent nationwide test has revealed that AT&T reportedly leads in mobile video streaming compared to its top rival carriers Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, and Sprint. The test was conducted by Global Wireless Solutions as an independent benchmarking firm which tracks and lists various details for wireless carriers around the globe. The test did not result in AT&T winning over all three other major carriers in the U.S. across the board but it did finish in the top spot for three of the four different areas which the test measured.
According to GWS, AT&T came out as the number one U.S. wireless carrier for mobile video streaming in the categories for reliability of the video stream, the lowest percentage of users seeing the picture freezing on them during playback, and highest video quality, which led it to being the carrier with the best overall video performance. In the category for quickest load times it came in second, with T-Mobile coming in at number one in this area while Verizon and Sprint came in at numbers three and four respectively. In regards to the other categories, T-Mobile came in at number two for lowest percentage of picture freezing and highest video quality, while Verizon came in at number three for both those categories, and Sprint came in at number four in both of those categories.
For reliability of the video stream, Verizon came in at number two, T-Mobile came in at number three, and Sprint came in at number four, which resulted in the three carriers coming in for overall best video streaming performance matching those same number rankings. GWS says that 98-percent of AT&T subscribers were able to successfully stream video during the test, which is said to have taken place throughout 2017 and across all 50 U.S. states as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, while conducting the tests on Samsung Galaxy devices with 4K YouTube videos being the chosen videos for the streaming data that was collected. For those who value video streaming performance as a top priority when it comes to choosing a carrier, AT&T just might be the best fit, at least according to this test, though it is important to remember that the test results could vary potentially based on the videos and devices used.