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iPhone Text Effects: Tips and Tricks
March 18, 2025
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The state of Texas encompasses a wide variety of terrain, from busy cities to wild coastline to empty plains. If you live here, choosing a carrier that offers reliable cell phone coverage to all of these areas is a wise move.
AT&T and Verizon offer the most 4G coverage throughout Texas, while T-Mobile delivers the most 5G. Read on to learn about the nuances of this coverage, and which carrier is the best choice for the places you spend time.
Table of contents
What We Like
- All of Texas’ major metro areas (Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin) are well covered by major carrier 4G and 5G networks
- AT&T and Verizon offer the most amount of 4G coverage—both cover 82% of the state
- Verizon offers just slightly less 4G coverage than AT&T
- T-Mobile’s 5G network is is the best in Texas
What We Don't Like
- 5G coverage may be spotty in the many underpopulated rural regions of the state (especially along the Mexican border in the southwestern part of the state)
Verizon’s 4G network covers an impressive 82% of Texas. That means you’re likely to get some sort of cell signal from Verizon almost wherever you go in the state.
Verizon’s 5G coverage in Texas is another story, spreading to just 14% of the total area of Texas. However, rest assured that it’s growing fast.
Verizon 4G Coverage in Texas
By zooming in on the map below, you can see just how formidable Verizon’s 4G coverage is throughout Texas. Other than some isolated dead zones to the west of San Antonio, Verizon’s 4G network is present just about everywhere.
Verizon 5G Coverage in Texas
Verizon’s 5G network covers 14% of Texas, and some of this includes Verizon’s super-fast 5G Ultra-Wideband. While 17% may not sound like a lot, a quick look at the map shows that the state’s main cities—Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Abilene, Tyler, Waco, Amarillo—are covered by the network. If you live in and around these places, you should be able to connect to Verizon’s fastest 5G speeds.
The Dallas-based AT&T is Texas’ native carrier, offering the best 4G and 5G coverage throughout the state, ahead of competitors T-Mobile and Verizon.
AT&T 4G Coverage in Texas
AT&T offers excellent 4G LTE coverage throughout Texas—the best, in fact. A full 82% of the state is covered by AT&T’s 4G network, spanning cities, ranch lands, plains, mountains, and almost everywhere in between.
AT&T 5G Coverage in Texas
T-Mobile gets most of the press for its 5G network (deservedly so), but AT&T also offers excellent 5G coverage in Texas. AT&T’s 5G network covers an impressive 48% of the state, which is 8% shy of leader T-Mobile. Much of this 5G coverage includes AT&T’s enhanced 5G+ spectrum, which offers lightning-fast speeds and low latency.
T-Mobile offers significantly less 4G coverage in Texas than competitors Verizon and AT&T, but the company’s much-advertised 5G network is growing fast within the state.
T-Mobile 4G Coverage in Texas
T-Mobile’s 4G network covers 57% of Texas, trailing the likes of AT&T. Still, most of the state’s populated areas enjoy excellent 4G coverage from T-Mobile.
T-Mobile 5G Coverage in Texas
T-Mobile has leaned heavily into 5G, aggressively expanding its network throughout Texas and beyond. Other than some isolated dead zones along the Mexican border, T-Mobile’s 5G serves most areas of the state. The best part? A significant portion of T-Mobile’s 5G network is made up of its enhanced 5G Ultra Capacity spectrum, which offers incredibly fast speeds.
When it comes to cell phone plans in Texas, your choices aren’t limited to Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile—there’s a litany of smaller carriers, or MVNOs, that also offer a range of plans. All of these carriers lease from the aforementioned major carrier networks to provide coverage to their customers.
That means if you’re signed up with Spectrum Mobile, for example, you’ll have access to Verizon coverage since the carrier runs on that network. Here are some popular MVNOs, and the networks they operate on:
Boost Mobile
Metro by T-Mobile
Networks they use
Metro by T-Mobile
Networks they use
Optimum Mobile
Spectrum Mobile
Cox Mobile
Straight Talk
Networks they use
Cricket
Networks they use
Visible
Networks they use
Google Fi
Networks they use
Xfinity Mobile
Mint Mobile
Things to Know about Cell Phone Coverage
Cell Phone Coverage Speeds
When it comes to cell phone coverage, you don’t just need a cellular signal—you need that signal to provide adequate speed. That’s why it’s important to distinguish between 4G and 5G coverage in your area. In general, 5G provides faster speeds and greater reliability than 4G. However, that’s not always the case, as there may be instances when the speeds of these respective coverage types are actually quite similar.
How to Get the Best Cell Phone Coverage
There’s more to getting the best coverage than just signing up with the carrier that offers reliable service in the places you spend time. These include:
- Your phone: The newer and more cutting edge your device, the more likely you’ll be able to tap into the fastest speeds. Some older phones don’t have the built-in technology to connect to the fastest 5G bands, resulting in slower service. The newest 5G devices, like the Apple iPhone 16 or Samsung Galaxy S24 series don’t have this problem.
- Your software: It’s important to make sure your software is up to date, as an out-of-date operating system can translate to an inability to connect to the fastest network speeds.
- Your cell phone plan: Depending on the mobile plan you have, your data may experience deprioritization during times of network congestion. If this is consistently happening to you, it may be worth investigating whether you can sign up for a plan that includes more premium (i.e. un-deprioritized) data.
- Your location: Certain types of coverage, like high-band 5G, has difficulty penetrating solid materials, like concrete walls. As simple as it may sound, moving to an unobstructed location may help you connect to these fast networks more reliably.
Our methodology
We sourced our cell phone coverage metrics from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which collects data voluntarily submitted by the four major national carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, UScellular). Read More
The FCC incorporates standardized propagation model assumptions into its data, and notes that a user’s actual experience may vary based on end-use factors like network congestion and terrain. Read Less
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which carrier offers the best coverage in Texas?
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AT&T offers both the best 4G and 5G coverage in Texas, leading competitors T-Mobile and Verizon.
Who has the best 5G network in Texas?
AT&T wields the best 5G network in Texas, covering 47% of the state. This is a full 12% more 5G coverage than runner-up T-Mobile.
How do I determine the best cell service in my area?
To determine the best cell phone service in your area, we recommend taking a look at our 4G and 5G coverage maps and zooming in to inspect your local area.
Learn More Network Coverage Maps
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