T-Mobile remains the wireless provider with the fastest median 5G internet download speed in the U.S., according to a new report published by Ookla. 

The research company's latest “5G in the U.S.” study found T-Mobile had a peak median download speed on its 5G network of 287.14 megabits per second (Mbps) before a slight drop-off in April and May. 

Verizon similarly peaked in March at 224.67 before dipping. 

As Ookla also notes, Verizon is gaining ground on T-Mobile, even surpassing in in median upload speed. 

Last week, the Advertising Research Federation released more new figures, suggesting that 6% of U.S. households watch video exclusively on mobile devices, a tally that increased by 1 million homes since 2022, the group said. 

Notabaly, according to Ookla, both T-Mobile and Verizon have improved their experience for video and gaming over 5G since last year. 

Ookla lead industry analyst Mark Giles noted: “5G performance in the United States continues to improve as more midband spectrum becomes available. In March, T-Mobile gained access to additional 2.5 GHz spectrum it won at auction 108 in 2022, and we’re already beginning to see the impact of this, adding extra capacity to its 5G network and boosting performance in rural U.S. locations in particular. In just one month, T-Mobile’s median download performance across the U.S. increased by 29.64 Mbps.”

The overall 5G experience does vary state to state, Ookla also said. 

Cox Communications has knocked Verizon off its long-held perch as the fastest provider of fixed broadband internet in the U.S. 

Verizon had placed No. 1 in the quarterly Ookla Speedtest Intelligence ranking of fixed ISP download speeds since the beginning of 2020. But privately owned cable company Cox, delivering a download pace of 197.73 megabits per second, finished first in the second quarter. 

Verizon (171.01 Mbps) fell to fourth place, behind Comcast (184.08 Mbps) and Charter Communications (183.74 Mbps). 

There's one important caveat here: Ookla compiles its rankings based on customer-run queries on its Speedtest.net platform, and the company just switched its ranking currency from the "mean" to the "median." 

"We implemented this change to more accurately represent the typical performance that consumers actually experience on a network," an Ookla rep told CNET. 

Notably, Cox ranked No. 6 on a list of the fastest uploaded speeds for fixed providers  at 10.6 Mpbs. Verizon ranked second at 112.36, followed by first-place finisher Frontier (113.21 Mpbs). 

Verizon did still rank as the top fixed ISP provider in terms of latency, and Verizon and Cox finished Nos. 1 and 2 in regard to how their networks handle streaming video. 

In terms of regional rankings, Charter Spectrum ranked as the fasters fixed ISP in California, delivering a median download speed of 168.91 Mbps. Verizon ranked No. 1 in New York at 177.45. 

The city with the fastest internet in America? That would be Gilbert, Arizona, which had a median download speed of 253.21 Mbps in Q2.

Comcast and T-Mobile came away with bragging rights as the fastest service in their respective fixed and mobile broadband categories, per the results of a new speed test from Ookla.

Billing it as a “comprehensive metric,” Ookla’s Speed Score for Q1/Q2 2017 factored in several facets of a service, including low-end, median and top-end performance for download and upload speeds.  Ookla’s Speed Score places more emphasis (90%) on download speeds, and the remaining 10% to upload speeds, reasoning that it’s a proper representation of a consumer’s experience on a day-to-day basis. Ookla said the report for the first half of the year is based on data captured from more than 26 million unique users performed north of 111 million tests on its Speedtest platform.

On the fixed broadband side of the ledger, Comcast was tops in the U.S. with a Speed Score of 69.58, ahead of Verizon Fios (66.74), Cox Communications (64.85), Charter Communications/Spectrum (51.45), AT&T (49.59), Frontier (31.70), and CenturyLink (14.91).

On a regional basis, Comcast was tops in the West and Northeast, Mediacom Communications led in the Midwest, while Suddenlink/Altice USA beat out others in the South.

Ookla said average fixed download speeds in the U.S. was 64.17 Mbps, and 22.79% in the upstream direction. That ranked the U.S. as 15th on downloads versus its peers, and 24th on the upstream side.

“Fixed broadband download speeds should continue to increase over the next year as the implementation of DOCSIS 3.1 becomes even more pervasive,” Ookla said, referring to a new DOCSIS platform for HFC networks that is being deployed aggressively by several MSOs, including Comcast, Mediacom, RCN and WideOpenWest, among others.

On the mobile end, T-Mobile led all U.S. providers with a Speed Score of 23.17, followed by Verizon Wireless (21.13), AT&T (20.5) and Sprint (15.39). Ookla suggested that T-Mobile’s “tightly-spaced cell site grid,” smaller sub base than Verizon and AT&T, and LTE footprint expansion all helped contribute to the result.

Those mobile carriers posted a U.S. average of 22.69 Mbps down, and 8.51 Mbps up – giving the U.S. a ranking of 44th in mobile download speeds, and 65th for upload speeds.

Download speeds among U.S. providers were up 19.2% from the year-ago period.  Upload speeds on mobile rose 4% versus the year-ago period.