New wireless rankings continue to show US 4G improvements ahead of 5G

US 4G wireless networks continued to show overall improvement even as 5G's expansion continues to loom over the industry. In new industry rankings from wireless industry trackers IHS Markit's RootMetrics and OpenSignal, Verizon continues to be praised for its robust nationwide 4G network while AT&T was once again found to have greatly improved its speed. The new rankings come a week after Speedtest.net owner Ookla released its first-half industry report. There were some discrepancies between the RootMetrics and Opensignal reports, which run millions of tests evaluating the carriers on national and regional levels. Whereas T-Mobile was praised for its speed and 4G availability by OpenSignal during its second-quarter tests, the nation's third-largest carrier, while fast on speeds, ranked "third or fourth in every category at the national level" that RootMetrics tested. The firm notes that some of its rankings were due to improvements by other carriers, particularly Verizon, and that the carrier continues to perform "much better in metropolitan markets than it does at state or national levels."