Cable Providers Top Telecom Rivals for Internet Reliability

A new study by Opensignal has ranked the reliability of broadband providers in the US, with surprising results. Spectrum and Xfinity, the two largest cable operators, emerged as the top performers. The study, conducted from April to June, analyzed data on downtime, service consistency, and performance metrics like speed and latency. Spectrum achieved a "Reliability Experience" score of 741 out of 1,000, followed by Xfinity with 710. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile trailed behind with scores of 625, 546, and 525 respectively. The study focused on these five companies because they collectively cover over a third of US homes. While Comcast and Charter utilize similar cable infrastructure, Verizon and AT&T have more diverse networks. Verizon and AT&T offer fiber service alongside fixed 4G and 5G wireless, and hybrid-fiber broadband, which lack the speed and capacity of fiber. T-Mobile's home connectivity is predominantly fixed wireless. This study highlights the performance differences between various broadband technologies and raises questions about the reliability of alternative solutions compared to traditional cable infrastructure.