With 6G networks of the future, every millisecond will matter.
Mobile networks are likely to be under pressure to meet the growing demands of multimodal applications as well as expanding requirements of AI over the coming years. Latency plays a key role in meeting these new demands and as operators migrate from non-standalone 5G (NSA) to standalone 5G (SA) and 5G advanced, they are engineering their networks to make them more responsive.
During a panel hosted by Ookla at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on March 3, Luke Kehoe, industry analyst at Ookla, moderated a discussion on latency and network responsiveness featuring Ankur Kapoor, EVP and chief network officer at T-Mobile US and Tibor Rathonyi, senior advisor at Ookla.
Kapoor noted that because NSA networks still rely on a 4G core, these two network technologies have to talk back-and-forth with each other, which keeps latency on the high side. Because SA networks eliminate that extra communications, latency becomes much more consistent from the device to the network core. Add Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable Throughput (L4S) to 5G SA and you have a network that is much more amenable to latency-sensitive applications such as video calls and gaming.
T-Mobile launched the first nationwide SA network in the U.S. in 2020 and then expanded SA to its 2.5 GHz spectrum in late 2022. The company launched nationwide 5G-Advanced in April 2025 and added L4S capability in July 2025.
“You want to have is consistent latency. You don’t want to have any peaks and valleys,” Kapoor said.
Rathonyi noted that Ookla’s network measurement tools are able to measure latency, both at idle and under load, and the quality of experience for different types of services such as gaming and web browsing.
“We see in our data that latency has a strong correlation to quality of experience,” Rathonyl said, adding that once networks get to single-digital latencies, it’s nearly an instantaneous experience for the end user.
However, this is just the beginning. Kapoor noted that he believes that 6G will be an “architectural shift” for wireless networks and will have to be AI native. “That’s where the industry is headed,” he noted.
“Training Wheels for 6G”
In fact, Kapoor describes the SA networks of today as the “training wheels” for the 6G networks of the future because 6G networks will not just be processing bits and bytes like 4G and 5G networks but will act as the “connective tissue” for physical AI.
What does he mean by “connective tissue?” Kapoor said he believes 6G will be processing “tokens.” In the AI world, a token is a basic unit of information that a model processes. AI models break down data into chunks, or tokens.
And when networks start processing AI tokens, uplink and latency become more important, Kapoor said. “Now every millisecond matters,” he said.
Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.
Sue Marek is Ookla’s editorial director and part of the company’s analyst team. She oversees the company’s thought leadership and editorial content. Sue is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience covering the telecom industry and her work has appeared in Fierce Network, Light Reading, and SDxCentral. She is a frequent speaker at industry events and has moderated panels at Mobile World Las Vegas, Connect(x), the Consumer Electronics Show, the Competitive Carriers’ Show and 5G North America. Sue has a B.S. in journalism from the University of Colorado.
All three mobile operators improved their network speeds at Levi’s Stadium in preparation for the big game.
The 65,000 or more football fans heading to Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, this Sunday, will likely experience fast 5G upload and download speeds from all three of the big wireless providers. This high-visibility event is considered a prime opportunity for mobile operators to showcase their wireless networks.
But Verizon outshines its competitors in median upload, median download, and median multi-server latency at Levi’s Stadium, according to Ookla Speedtest Intelligence® data.
The operator’s dominant position is likely a result of Verizon’s lengthy partnership with the National Football League (NFL). Verizon signed a 10-year deal with the NFL in 2021 to equip multiple stadiums with 5G and use that technology to enhance the fan experience.
Key Takeaways:
Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile users at Levi’s Stadium all experienced significant increases in median download and median upload speeds from June 2025 to January 2026.
Verizon tops its competitors AT&T and T-Mobile in network speeds at Levi’s Stadium. The operator’s median download speed hit 1464.38 Mbps in January 2026, which is much higher than T-Mobile’s median download speed of 768.01 Mbps and AT&T’s median download speed of 796.61 Mbps.
Verizon’s median multi-server latency is half that of T-Mobile. In January 2026 Verizon’s median multi-server latency was just 17 milliseconds (ms) compared to AT&T’s latency of 24 ms and T-Mobile’s 34 ms of latency.
In addition to the DAS, Verizon also improved its network with additional deployments of mmWave and C-band antennas throughout the stadium and in its parking lots.
Verizon spent billions over the last several years to acquire mmWave spectrum licenses. mmWave provides 5G with massive “data pipes” that enable multi-gigabit speeds and faster response times. However, the signals have a very short range so they are best if used to provide high-capacity coverage in crowded areas like stadiums and urban centers.
Verizon also said it deployed a dedicated C-band small cell in the ride-share area specifically to create a better experience for fans as they arrive and depart.
AT&T said it made upgrades to the Levi Stadium DAS, expanded its macro sites and small cells within the stadium, and deployed Cell on Wheels (CoW) and Cell on Light Truck (COLT), to provide temporary network coverage for high-traffic events.
AT&T’s improvements are part of its Turbo Live program. The new paid service from AT&T provides priority cellular performance during big sporting events and concerts. AT&T is rolling this service out to 10 stadiums, including Levi’s Stadium, and will charge up to $15 for the service.
Bandwidth blitz: mobile performance rises across all three operators
Users across all three mobile operators experienced better network speeds at Levi’s Stadium during the seven-month period leading up to the Super Bowl. Verizon’s median download speed increased from 914.30 Mbps in June 2025 to 1464.38 Mbps in January 2026. T-Mobile’s median download speed increased from 132.61 Mbps in June to 768.01 Mbps in January 2026 and AT&T’s median download speed jumped from 238.56 Mbps to 796.61 Mbps.
Upload speeds across all three operators also significantly increased during that six-month time frame, however Verizon’s median upload speed is well above its peers. Upload speed is becoming a bigger priority for game-goers as many fans want to livestream snippets of game play and half-time entertainment.
Verizon’s median upload speed grew from 115.98 Mbps in June 2025 to 244.06 Mbps in January 2026. T-Mobile’s median upload speed increased from 18.48 Mbps in June to 101.04 Mbps in January. And AT&T’s median upload speed nearly doubled during that seven-month time period from 40.99 Mbps to 79.71 Mbps.
It’s important to note that the network speeds consumers experience at Levi’s Stadium are optimized for the in-stadium experience and vary greatly from the network speeds that are typically experienced elsewhere. These speeds also represent the network capacity that is available to ensure that there is enough speed available for all 65,000-plus fans that are expected to attend stadium events.
For comparison, according to Ookla’s latest Speedtest Connectivity Report, during the second half of 2025 the median download speed across all carriers in San Jose, California, which is just a few miles from Levi’s Stadium, was 167.57 Mbps and the median upload speed was 11.8 Mbps.
Network Performance at Levi's Stadium, Home of Super Bowl LX
Speedtest Intelligence® | June 2025 – January 2026
A look at download, upload and latency for the three top US providers over time at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.
Latency goes low
Another area where Verizon stands apart from its peers is in median multi-server latency, which is the measure of the responsiveness of the network. Verizon’s latency is half that of T-Mobile, indicating that Verizon users will likely see a more immediate reaction when they click on a link on their phone. In January 2026 Verizon’s median multi-server latency was just 17 milliseconds (ms) compared to AT&T’s latency of 24 ms and T-Mobile’s 34 ms of latency.
These latency measurements at Levi’s Stadium are also dramatically lower than the typical consumer experience outside the stadium. For reference, according to Ookla’s Speedtest Connectivity report from the second half of 2025 the median multi-server latency from all providers from nearby San Jose, California, was 41 ms.
Throughput throwdown: comparing past Super Bowl performance
Speedtest data from Levi’s Stadium shows all three providers have increased their network speeds and decreased median multi-server latency in the months leading up to Sunday’s game with Verizon leading its peers.
A look back at the performance of the big-three operators at Super Bowl LIX in February 2025 at Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans shows similar results.
On February 9, 2025 during Super Bowl LIX at Caesar’s Superdome Ookla Speedtest data clocked Verizon with a median download speed of 1190.53 Mbps compared to AT&T with a median download speed of 683.13 Mbps and T-Mobile’s median download speed of 562.95 Mbps.
Likewise Verizon also was a leader in median upload speeds on game day with speeds of 101.38 Mbps compared to AT&T at 20.72 Mbps and T-Mobile at 21.12 Mbps.
It’s interesting to note the difference in upload speeds for all three providers from January 2026 at Levi’s Stadium as compared to February 2025 at Caesars Superdome.
Verizon’s median upload speed of 244.06 Mbps at Levi’s Stadium in January 2026 is more than 2x that of its median upload speed the prior year at Caesars Superdome. T-Mobile’s median upload speed of 101.04 Mbps in January at Levi’s Stadium is more than 4.5x that of its median upload speed of 21.12 Mbps in February 2025 at Caesars Superdome. And AT&T’s median upload speed of 79.71 Mbps in January 2026 at Levi’s Stadium is more than 3x that of its median upload speed of 20.72 Mbps from February 2025 at Caesars Superdome.
Network Performance at Caesars Superdome, Home of Super Bowl LIX
Speedtest Intelligence® | February 2025
Network performance at Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Home of Super Bowl LIX during February 2025.
Verizon Wins the Connectivity Bowl
While all three major carriers have significantly bolstered their network performance at Levi’s Stadium in anticipation of Super Bowl LX, Verizon claims the top position. By leveraging a decade-long partnership with the NFL and aggressive deployments of mmWave and C-band technology, Verizon has developed a strong lead over its peers. But the real winners are the fans. The 65,000 attendees at Levi’s Stadium can expect to have a strong wireless experience on game day and throughout the rest of the year. Levi’s Stadium is just one example of how operators and stadium owners are investing in permanent infrastructure upgrades to ensure better connectivity at stadium events throughout the year.
Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.
Sue Marek is Ookla’s editorial director and part of the company’s analyst team. She oversees the company’s thought leadership and editorial content. Sue is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience covering the telecom industry and her work has appeared in Fierce Network, Light Reading, and SDxCentral. She is a frequent speaker at industry events and has moderated panels at Mobile World Las Vegas, Connect(x), the Consumer Electronics Show, the Competitive Carriers’ Show and 5G North America. Sue has a B.S. in journalism from the University of Colorado.
Speedtest data highlights the early usage of T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service, which works on most new iOS and Android smartphones released in the past 2-4 years. The service is available to T-Mobile customers as well as customers of AT&T, Verizon and other providers.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on October 17 to include information about devices connecting to Starlink that also registered as having active service.
T-Mobile first announced its satellite plans with partner SpaceX in August 2022, just before Apple unveiled its own satellite partnership with Globalstar. Fast forward to 2025 and T-Mobile officially launched its satellite texting service with SpaceX on July 23.
Now, Ookla Speedtest® data provides a look at the early usage of T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service across T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and FirstNet users. (FirstNet is for public-safety customers and runs over AT&T’s network.) The below data is derived from Android smartphones that registered with SpaceX Starlink satellites at some point between December 2024 and September 2025.
Key Takeaways:
T-Mobile customers accounted for roughly 60% of all connections. When only counting devices that reported having active service at the time of their Starlink connection, that figure rose to 70.8%.
Los Angeles County, California, was the country’s most popular location for T-Satellite activity. This massive county contains both the city of Los Angeles and Angeles National Forest, an area known for its rugged mountains, steep canyons and extensive trail systems. It’s also where T-Mobile deployed free T-Satellite text messaging services in the early days of 2025, amid multiple wildfires.
The median download and upload speeds of Starlink’s fixed internet service showed no signs of degradation amid the testing and launch of T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service this year. That’s likely due to the fact that Starlink’s smartphone-capable satellites are different from those supporting its fixed internet service.
T-Satellite Rockets into the Commercial Marketplace
Direct to device (D2D) technology connects smartphones directly to satellites for text messaging and other services, primarily in outdoor, rural areas where no other connections exist. Those satellites are hundreds of miles above the Earth, traveling thousands of miles an hour. Thus, such phone-to-satellite connections represent an impressive technological feat considering standard, terrestrial cellular networks connect smartphones to stationary cell towers that are on the ground, usually just a few miles away.
Apple, via Globalstar’s satellites and spectrum holdings, pioneered the D2D market. Every iPhone since the iPhone 14, introduced in 2022, can send and receive text messages through these satellites. In September, Apple expanded D2D into its lineup of smartwatches.
But Apple isn’t the only D2D player to achieve liftoff.
T-Mobile first unveiled its satellite ambitions in 2022, via a public press conference featuring outgoing T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert and SpaceX’s Elon Musk. The companies promised a service that could connect smartphones directly to SpaceX’s Starlink satellites via a sliver of T-Mobile’s licensed spectrum holdings. Unlike Apple and Globalstar’s offering, this setup doesn’t require users to purchase a new phone.
SpaceX began launching satellites in support of its D2D service starting in early 2024.
Then, in February of 2025, T-Mobile launched a beta test of its SpaceX-powered T-Satellite text messaging service, complete with a high-profile Super Bowl advertisement. Importantly, T-Mobile offered the beta service for free, for three months, to its own customers as well as customers of its rivals, AT&T and Verizon. T-Mobile said it gradually added users to the service as part of its testing efforts, eventually gaining 2 million signups for the beta and 30,000 daily users, including “hundreds of thousands” of customers from AT&T and Verizon.
Finally, T-Mobile commercially launched its T-Satellite messaging service in July 2025, with around 650 Starlink satellites. The offering is now available at no extra cost to T-Mobile customers on the operator’s Experience Beyond plan (which starts at $100 per month). For other customers – including T-Mobile customers on other plans, as well as those of AT&T and Verizon – it’s available for an extra $10 per month. Non-T-Mobile customers can access the service via an eSIM.
Ookla Speedtest data captured throughout 2025 shows growing interest in T-Satellite:
Weekly Count of Devices Connected to Starlink D2D
From Speedtest data, December 2024 – September 2025
This is a chart that shows the growth of T-Mobile's T-Satellite.
As of September 2025, T-Mobile customers remained the biggest group of users connecting to SpaceX’s D2D satellites. But AT&T customers also show links to those satellites:
Percent share of Starlink D2D Device Connections, Active and Non Active Devices
From Speedtest data, December 2024 – September 2025
This is a chart that shows Starlink D2D Device connections. AT&T: 34%. T-Mobile: 60.9%
However, when only counting the Android devices that reported having active service (rather than counting both devices with active service as well as devices without) the figures are a bit different:
Percent share of Starlink D2D Connections on Devices with Active Service
From Speedtest data, December 2024 – October 2025
This fluctuation may simply be due to the fact that D2D is a relatively new technology and therefore device settings may vary depending on the gadget’s make, model, and operator settings.
Also, it’s possible that Verizon customers aren’t showing as much interest in T-Satellite because of Verizon’s 2024 agreement with Skylo. Skylo doesn’t operate its own satellites, but it does purchase connectivity from those that do, including Viasat, Ligado Networks, TerreStar and EchoStar.
Verizon began offering Skylo-powered text messaging in emergency situations in January 2025 on Samsung Galaxy S25 series smartphones. Since then it has added support for newer Google Pixel phones, and it expanded the service into regular, nonemergency situations.
AT&T, meanwhile, has an agreement with satellite operator AST SpaceMobile. That company hopes to begin offering intermittent satellite connections to AT&T and Verizon customers starting later this year. AST SpaceMobile has promised more continuous service in 2026 as it adds more satellites to its planned constellation.
National Forests and National Parks are Top Locations for D2D Users
This interactive map displays the locations where Speedtest data showed a Starlink D2D connection over the course of 2025:
And here is a list of the top five U.S. counties by total D2D device connections over the course of 2025:
Los Angeles County, California
Larimer County, Colorado
Teton County, Wyoming
Mohave County, Arizona
Mineral County, Montana
That Los Angeles County is the most popular location for T-Satellite D2D connections is interesting. Although the city of Los Angeles sits in the southern portion of Los Angeles County, California, the Angeles National Forest sits in the northern part. This remote area contains several wilderness zones, including the Cucamonga Wilderness, Magic Mountain Wilderness, and Pleasant View Ridge Wilderness, as well as a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Cellular coverage throughout the northern portion of Los Angeles County is poor or nonexistant:
Los Angeles County has also been the scene of several major wildfires this year, including the Palisades and Eaton Fires in January 2025. In one of its first public D2D forays, T-Mobile delivered free Starlink D2D messaging to 198,000 users in areas affected by those January wildfires.
Other top D2D locations in the U.S. feature geographic characteristics similar to that of Los Angeles County. For example, Larimer County, Colorado, is located in the northern part of the state and contains parts of Rocky Mountain National Park and Roosevelt National Forest. Similarly, Teton County, Wyoming, is the home of Grand Teton National Park and a significant portion of Yellowstone National Park. And Mohave County, Arizona, includes parts of Grand Canyon National Park, Lake Mead National Recreation Area and the Mojave Desert. All of these areas sport at least some cellular dead zones.
D2D Connections are Relatively Rare
National forests and national parks are vacation destinations, visited occasionally. Based on Ookla Speedtest data, U.S. users are in reach of a cellular network the vast majority of the time.
Percent Time Spent Without Service
From Speedtest data, Full-Year 2024
This is a chart that shows percewnt time spent without service. AT&T T-Mobile and Verizon it's about 62% on Verizon for 4G, 27% for T-Mobile. For 5G it's 34% for Verizon and 69% for T-Mobile and 60% for AT&T. And it's like 2% for time spent with no service.
This data reflects the fact that homes, offices, coffee shops, schools and other familiar locations – in cities and towns with cellular coverage – are where most users spend the bulk of their time. It also highlights the impressive coverage provided by the 651,000 cell sites around the U.S. These sites – from massive cell towers to small cells atop light posts – cover most populated areas (while Wi-Fi covers most indoor locations).
The 2.79% of the time when the average U.S. user isn’t connected to a cellular network is where the D2D market can play. Clearly, 2.79% is a relatively small slice of time, but it may also represent the hours when an internet connection might be the most useful. Whether it’s a flat tire in the middle of nowhere or a broken ankle on a mountainside, users may place a value on a D2D satellite connection far in excess of the time they actually spend on it.
For example, in a recent survey of around 1,000 smartphone users, the financial analysts at TD Cowen found that more than 60% would pay at least $5 per month for some kind of satellite D2D service. That’s worth an additional $3 billion in additional annualized revenue for the U.S. wireless industry.
This is why so many companies are investing into the D2D industry. Lynk Global, AST SpaceMobile, Viasat and Iridium are among the companies planning or building satellite constellations for D2D services. Others, like Amazon’s Kuiper, may add D2D capabilities to their satellites at a later date.
That said, D2D market leaders aren’t standing still. SpaceX recently inked a $17 billion deal to acquire spectrum from EchoStar to help expand its D2D service beyond text messaging. And Apple is plowing $1.7 billion into its satellite partner Globalstar for the construction of a new satellite constellation with as-yet-unannounced capabilities.
SpaceX may have Big Plans for Starlink and D2D
SpaceX has been using its rocket-launching business to build out its Starlink satellite internet constellation, which now stretches across 8,000 satellites and roughly 7 million global fixed internet customers. SpaceX’s rockets add satellites to Starlink’s constellation on an almost daily basis.
However, Starlink’s D2D satellites are separate and apart from those dedicated to the company’s fixed internet business (although both types of satellites share the same backhaul links). This is why Starlink’s fixed internet speeds in the U.S. haven’t been affected by the testing and launch of T-Mobile’s T-Satellite service.
Starlink's U.S. Fixed Internet Monthly Performance
Speedtest Intelligence, January 2024 – August 2025
This is a chart that shows the growth in speeds of Starlink fixed internet. It was like 129 Mbps in August 2025.
This is important because SpaceX has so far received $478 million in grants from the U.S. government’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. That money is intended to bring fixed internet connections to almost 300,000 rural locations across the U.S.
Starlink’s D2D business currently runs over about 650 satellites. When those satellites orbit beyond the borders of the U.S., they’re used by other cellular operators in Starlink’s Direct to Cell program including Rogers (Canada), Optus (Australia), Telstra (Australia), KDDI (Japan), Entel (Chile & Peru) and Kyivstar (Ukraine). The service has proven so popular that New Zealand mobile operator One has reportedly expanded the amount of licensed spectrum it will run through Starlink’s satellites from 5 MHz to 15 MHz. And Starlink recently claimed 7 million D2D users globally.
But satellite-powered text messaging isn’t the end of Starlink’s D2D ambitions. Already T-Mobile and other Starlink partners are beginning to deploy some early data services. For T-Satellite users, those data services are restricted to select smartphone apps including AccuWeather, AllTrails, Google Maps, Google Messages, onX Backcountry, WhatsApp, X and Apple apps like Maps, Messages and Music. And T-Mobile is working to temper early users’ expectations.
“Satellite connections aren’t always instant – because satellites move overhead, your phone may need a moment to find one,” T-Mobile warns. “If you don’t see signal right away, just give it a little time and try again. This isn’t high speed data, but it’s built for what matters most off grid.”
SpaceX is working to speed things up. With the $17 billion in spectrum it purchased from EchoStar, SpaceX says it expects to ultimately provide D2D data speeds generally comparable to those on 4G LTE networks. According to Ookla Speedtest Intelligence, 4G operators in the U.S. provided 33 Mbps median download speeds and 4 Mbps median upload speeds in 2024.
SpaceX has already asked the FCC for permission to launch as many as 15,000 D2D satellites in pursuit of this objective. The company must also work with phone vendors to ensure its new spectrum licenses are supported in future phones.
Should existing cellular operators worry about all this? Maybe, according to SpaceX’s Elon Musk. When asked whether Starlink could become a global phone carrier in the future, “that would be one of the options,” Musk replied. But he added that “we’re not going to put the other carriers out of business. They’re still going to be around because they own a lot of spectrum. But yes, you should be able to have Starlink like you have an AT&T, or T-Mobile, or Verizon or whatever.”
When asked the same question in a different venue, SpaceX’s Gwynne Shotwell was a little more circumspect: “We will be initiating discussions with telcos in a different way now,” she said. “It’s our spectrum, but we want to work with them, almost providing wholesale capacity to their customers. We have to work with the device manufacturers, the chip companies, and working with telcos on the end game. It’s really exciting, but it’s a huge amount of work.”
Ookla retains ownership of this article including all of the intellectual property rights, data, content graphs and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed or published for any commercial purpose without prior consent. Members of the press and others using the findings in this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share and link to report information with attribution to Ookla.
Mike Dano is a Lead Industry Analyst in Ookla’s research and content team. He covers the North and South American markets, and global technology trends. Previously, Mike was a journalist covering the global telecom industry for 25 years at publications including RCR Wireless News, Fierce Network and Light Reading.
