Joe Maring / Android Authority
A decade ago, if I had told people that T-Mobile would eventually be considered the fastest network in the US and that the brand would become the de facto leader in many ways, I’m sure I would have had a hard time finding anyone who believed me. Well, at least outside of T-Mobile’s most ardent fans.
Yet, here we are at the beginning of 2026, and slowly but surely we seem to be heading in this direction. In 2025, T-Mobile won several awards from major survey companies, including Ookla, and largely became known as the king of network speed. Even AT&T is finally striking harder at the competition, particularly T-Mobile.
Meanwhile, Verizon is struggling to retain customers and has received a lot of bad press. In late 2025, Verizon massively slashed its workforce, and more recently, it also experienced a major service disruption. This all makes it feel like Verizon is finally starting to be overshadowed for the first time in well over a decade.
Likewise, over the last several months, we’ve seen AT&T and T-Mobile jab at each other left and right. For me, this is major deja vu, but with a strange twist. In the past, Verizon was always the king, with AT&T nipping at its heels, and the rest of the competition dragging behind. Now the order is starting to feel like it has flipped in some ways.
No one seems to be treating Verizon as an immediate threat, or even as a meaningful target for recruiting new users. Don’t let this fool you, Verizon is far from down and out. While it might be seeing declining postpaid subscribers and other moves that point to decline, it’s still the largest network in the US by subscriber count.
Still, the winds seem to be shifting. Should Verizon worry, and what led to these changes in the first place? Let’s jump in and discuss.
Do you think T-Mobile will overtake Verizon as number one in subscriber count? 451 votes Yes, absolutely. 70 % No, Verizon is still too strong. 16 % No, T-Mobile is heading in the wrong direction and will slow down. 12 % Other (Let us know in the comments) 2 %
What changed in the market to lead to this shift?
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
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