This article compares the network wireless coverage of two popular network providers (Sprint and Verizon) to determine which has a better coverage.
How Does Sprint’s Coverage Compare to That of Verizon?
Spoiler alert! Verizon outrightly wins. When it comes to coverage, Sprint does not even come close to Verizon. Verizon’s competition lies with T-Mobile and AT&T.
Verizon Coverage
Verizon has remained the frontrunner in coverage throughout the years. Verizon’s 4G LTE service maintains coverage of over 70 percent of the USA. Its 5G band, on the other hand, serves approximately 11 percent. In fact, according to a report published by Opensignal in January 2022, Verizon has the best 4G coverage experience, with an almost perfect score of 9.9.
The Verizon coverage map demonstrates the expansiveness of this provider. The majority of cities are covered by Verizon’s service area. Verizon prioritizes both rural and urban regions. Therefore, if you reside in a rural less populous region, Verizon is likely your service provider of choice.
Sprint Coverage
Sprint’s coverage is limited to only 30 percent of the country. A detailed inspection of Sprint’s coverage map reveals network coverage gaps in urban regions .
Sprint seems to have abandoned rural areas in favor of providing coverage in densely populated urban areas. Consequently, city dwellers will benefit from Sprint.
Sprint has no competitive advantage over Verizon. Sprint has not been ranked in the top three in any of the categories Verizon has been nominated for or won.
Nonetheless, a change may be forthcoming. T-Mobile announced the acquisition of Sprint’s brand in April 2020. While this does not represent a significant improvement in coverage, it does give Sprint a spring in its steps. T-Mobile is one of the top three brands in the majority of comparisons and can be easily compared to Verizon. T-Mobile announced at that time that the status quo would remain in place for three years.
How to Check for Verizon Coverage
Of course, if you already have the Verizon service, you can check your coverage by simply glancing at the indicator symbol on the top of your screen. Depending on your location and your device, 5G, 4G, or 3G may be available to you.
However, if you want to check the service available in your location before switching to Verizon, the company makes it easy by providing a network coverage map. All you need to do is type in your location, and you will be greeted with a screen showing the Verizon coverage around you.
Verizon states that the 5G Ultra network is already available in cities like Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Philadelphia, to name a few.
The Sprint website gives you a link to check if you are in a good coverage area. A network coverage map is accessible by clicking the link. With the merger with T-Mobile, you will immediately see that the coverage area seems to have improved considerably, with a few patchy areas.
From your location, you can quickly tell if you are in a good network coverage area or not. Sprint also gives you a tab where you can choose if you want to view 4G or 5G coverage areas.
Both services support a wide range of devices. Considering that these are popular network providers, most devices will be designed to use them.
Verizon lists 34 manufacturers in its supported list, while Sprint lists 22 different manufacturers.
While Sprint uses the WiMAX protocol for all of its services, Verizon has multiple bands for its various network services: EVDO is used for 3G and LTE for 4G. This expedites data transfer speeds. However, remember that data speed is dependent on network coverage.
In the last quarter of 2021, Verizon had about 148 million subscribers, which makes it the most prominent US wireless provider by subscriber count. Before the merger with T-Mobile, Sprint had about 54 million subscribers.
When it comes to coverage, Verizon easily trumps Sprint. With Verizon, you do not need to be worried about service availability in practically any part of the nation.
Sprint is a strong service provider but still has a long way to go to match the coverage of Verizon.
Is Sprint’s coverage as good as that of Verizon’s?
No. Sprint covers only about 30 percent of the country while Verizon covers about 70 percent.
Which company provides great 5G network in the USA?
Currently, T-Mobile has the best 5G coverage of all the wireless networks. Verizon has only about 11 percent.
Who Has Better Rural Coverage? Verizon or Sprint?
Verizon covers a lot more rural areas than Sprint. The latter focuses more on densely populated urban centers.
Who Has Better Download Speed? Verizon or Sprint?
Sprint currently has faster download speeds averaging 90.65Mbps, while Verizon offers an average speed of 44.67Mbps.
