Best Cell Phone Coverage in South Dakota
What carrier is best in South Dakota?
We used data from our crowd-source speed test map and signal strength data from the FCC to rank the best carriers in South Dakota:
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The Carrier with the Most Coverage in South Dakota
If you want coverage in the most places in South Dakota, what carrier is best?
The answer is simple: AT&T.
AT&T has the most coverage in South Dakota. Its 4G LTE and 5G networks cover 97% of the state.
You can further break AT&T's coverage down into areas with good, great, or poor reception.
Here's the full breakdown of AT&T coverage in South Dakota:
- Total coverage area: 97%
- Great reception: 27.7%
- Good reception: 42%
- Poor reception: 27.3%
- No coverage: 3%
The network with the second best coverage in South Dakota is Verizon.
Verizon covers 86.6% of the state with its 4G LTE and 5G networks.
But how good is the quality of the coverage on Verizon?
Here are the full details of Verizon's coverage in South Dakota:
- Total coverage area: 86.6%
- Great reception: 25.6%
- Good reception: 28.8%
- Poor reception: 32.2%
- No coverage: 13.4%
T-Mobile is the third best option in South Dakota.
Its 4G LTE and 5G networks cover 42.7% of the state.
How good is the quality of coverage?
Here is how the quality of T-Mobile's coverage is broken down in South Dakota:
- Total coverage area: 42.7%
- Great reception: 5.1%
- Good reception: 11%
- Poor reception: 26.6%
- No coverage: 57.3%
But how do AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile compare side-by-side in terms of overall coverage and reception quality in South Dakota?
Use the comparison below to see how the three carriers stack up:
Cell Phone Coverage Comparison in South Dakota
South Dakota Cellular Coverage Map
Want to see an interactive map of cell coverage in South Dakota?
Click or tap the image below to launch a full-screen interactive coverage map created with crowd-sourced data.
You can also download our free Coverage Map app for iPhone or Android.
Wondering how to contribute data to the crowd-sourced map? Check out our guide on how to upload data to the map. If you choose to upload data, you are helping to build more accurate coverage maps for everyone, so thank you!
Best Cellular Data Speeds in South Dakota
Getting great coverage is one thing.
But what is the point of having great coverage if your data speeds are slow and your apps take forever to load?
There is probably not much point at all.
To help you out, we analyzed the data from our crowd-sourced speed test map, where users upload speed tests performed on each of the carriers, to determine what carrier has the fastest data speeds in South Dakota.
Here is what we found:
- T-Mobile has the fastest speeds in South Dakota. Its median download speed is 101.6 Mbps. Its median upload speed is 35.2 Mbps.
- AT&T is in second place. It has a median performance of 68.4 Mbps for download speeds and 10.5 Mbps for upload.
- Verizon has the slowest speeds in South Dakota. Its median download speed is 40.9 Mbps. For upload speeds, Verizon got 13.5 Mbps.
Compare the performance on all three carriers below:
Download Speed Comparison
Upload Speed Comparison
What Affects Data Speeds?
Data speeds can be affected by various factors, including network congestion, signal strength, device capabilities, and the technology used by the service provider.
You might experience slower data speeds during peak hours when many people are using the network simultaneously, or in areas with weak cellular coverage.
Best Cell Phone Plans in South Dakota
Okay, now that you know the carrier with the best coverage and fastest data speeds in South Dakota, what cell phone plan should you sign up for?
There are a few great options.
And some of them can save you a LOT of money.
But how?
It turns out that the big carriers, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, are known as MNOs, or mobile network operators. They build and operate their own networks by putting up cell towers, laying fiber optic cable, and purchasing spectrum licenses from the FCC.
The MNOs will also sell access to their networks to MVNOs.
What is an MVNO?
An MVNO, or mobile virtual network operator, is any carrier that does not own its own wireless network. Instead, these small carriers purchase network access from AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon.
Popular examples of MVNOs include Mint Mobile, Boost Infinite, and Visible.
Why is this important to you?
Understanding MVNOS is important because it means you can sign up for service on an MVNO and get the exact same coverage as one of the major carriers. Whichever major carrier the MVNO has an agreement with is the underlying network you will use for coverage.
MVNOs can also save you a LOT of money, too, because they have more affordable plans.
In addition to negotiating low wholesale rates for network access from the major carriers, MVNOs also use other cost-saving strategies such as operating online only to pass additional savings on to consumers.
Would you save money by signing up for an MVNO?
See for yourself by comparing some highlighted plan options on each of the major networks below:
Frequently Asked Questions
What carrier has the best cell phone service in South Dakota?
AT&T has the best overall cell phone service in South Dakota. It offers the best balance between coverage, data speeds, and reliability.
What carrier has the most coverage in South Dakota?
AT&T has the most coverage in South Dakota. It covers 97% of the state.
What carrier has the fastest speeds in South Dakota?
T-Mobile has the fastest speeds in South Dakota. Its median download speeds are 101.6 Mbps and its median upload speeds are 35.2 Mbps.
Check Coverage in South Dakota
Aurora CountyBeadle CountyBennett CountyBon Homme CountyBrookings CountyBrown CountyBrule CountyBuffalo CountyButte CountyCampbell CountyCharles Mix CountyClark CountyClay CountyCodington CountyCorson CountyCuster CountyDavison CountyDay CountyDeuel CountyDewey CountyDouglas CountyEdmunds CountyFall River CountyFaulk CountyGrant CountyGregory CountyHaakon CountyHamlin CountyHand CountyHanson CountyHarding CountyHughes CountyHutchinson CountyHyde CountyJackson CountyJerauld CountyJones CountyKingsbury CountyLake CountyLawrence CountyLincoln CountyLyman CountyMarshall CountyMcCook CountyMcPherson CountyMeade CountyMellette CountyMiner CountyMinnehaha CountyMoody CountyPennington CountyPerkins CountyPotter CountyRoberts CountySanborn CountyShannon CountySpink CountyStanley CountySully CountyTodd CountyTripp CountyTurner CountyUnion CountyWalworth CountyYankton CountyZiebach County
How are the Coverage Scores calculated?
The Coverage Scores are calculated for each of the carriers by looking at three key metrics:
- Coverage
- Data Speeds
- Reliability
Coverage
The Coverage Score is on a scale from 0 to 10.
To calculate the coverage score, we look at two key metrics: 1) the total area covered and 2) the tower density.
The total area covered comes from the signal strength data from the FCC. Any area that has signal is counted toward the total the total coverage area. A higher coverage area means a higher score. A lower coverage area means a lower score.
The tower density metric is also calculated using the FCC signal strength data. We estimate a carrier's tower density by looking at how many areas have high signal strength compared to low signal strength. Lots of areas with great signal indicate a higher tower density, and thus a higher score.
Data Speeds
The Data Speeds score is on a scale from 0 to 10.
We calculate the score by looking at a carrier's median download and upload speeds in a given area. Faster speeds means getting a higher score. We weigh the median download speed at 70% of the total score and the median upload speed at 30% of the total score.
To score a perfect 10/10, a carrier would need to get median speeds of 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload.
Reliability
The Reliability Score is on a scale from 0 to 10. The goal for the Reliability Score is to estimate how likely you'll have a usable connection when you have service.
To calculate the Reliability score, we look at the bottom 10%, 5% and 1% of data speeds in a given area. The download speeds are weighted at 50% of the score. Upload speeds are weighted at 20% of the score.
We also look at latency to calculate the Reliability Score.
Latency is a measurement of how long it takes a data packet to travel from the sender to the receiver. You can think of latency as answering the question, "how much delay is there in the network?"
If there is high latency (30ms to 100ms), it takes a long time for data packets to be sent and received by your phone. Your connection may feel slow or "laggy."
If there is low latency (under 30ms), your connection will feel fast and responsive.
Latency is weighted at 30% of the Reliability Score.
Overall Score
The overall score looks at the Coverage, Data Speeds, and Reliability Scores and weighs them as follows:
- Coverage Score: 70%
- Reliability Score: 23%
- Data Speeds Score: 7%
Where does CoverageMap.com get its coverage and speed data from?
CoverageMap.com gets different data from different sources.
The overall coverage and signal strength data comes from the FCC's mobile broadband map.
The information about data speeds and network performance comes from community members contributing speed test results to our crowd-sourced coverage map. If you are interested in contributing to the project and helping to build better, more accurate coverage maps for everyone, you can learn more here.