If you’re looking for a new cell phone plan, you may have come across US Mobile and its low-cost prepaid plans.
Budget-friendly carriers like US Mobile can help you save over $500 per month on your cell phone bill.
But, you may be wondering if US Mobile’s coverage will live up to your expectations.
In this article, we will explore the coverage provided by US Mobile and compare it to other major carriers to help you make an informed decision.
US Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that uses either the Verizon or T-Mobile networks to provide coverage.
You choose which network you want to use when you first sign up for service.
US Mobile refers to the Verizon network as its “Warp 5G” network. It refers to the T-Mobile network as its “GSM LTE” network.
Most people will probably want to use US Mobile with its Verizon-based service. US Mobile offers more features on Verizon, like supporting eSIM activations.
Additionally, certain plans like Unlimited Basic and Unlimited Premium include more data when activated on the Verizon network than when activated on the T-Mobile network.
From our research, the Verizon network tends to provide more coverage in more areas, as well.
You can check US Mobile coverage on the Verizon network using the coverage maps below.
The first map shows estimated coverage across the United States. The second map is a community-contributed map that shows verified coverage across the country.
If you’re interested in contributing to our project, you can learn more here.
The above data comes from the FCC’s National Broadband Map.
The FCC collected signal strength data from all network opartors and made the coverage information publicly available.
Currently, the network that covers the most area covers just 55% of the U.S. This number may seem low, but it’s because large areas of rural land where no one lives, like the vast wilderness of Alaska (17.5% of the land area of the United States) don’t get covered with cell service.
We calculate the total square miles covered by Visible’s network by multiplying the percentage of area Visible covers by the total area of the United States, which was reported as 3,805,927 by the United States Census Bureau.
US Mobile uses the 4G LTE and 5G networks from Verizon or T-Mobile to provide service.
Users select what network they want when they sign up.
Verizon’s network tends to offer better overall coverage with a 55% coverage area across the U.S.
T-Mobile’s network only covers 35% of the U.S., but it does tend to offer faster data speeds in the areas that it does have service.
When you’re using US Mobile on Verizon 5G, you get nationwide 5G service that covers over 230 million people.
Data speeds on Verizon 5G can reach as fast as 4Gbps on its 5G Ultra Wideband network.
However, most of the time you’ll be connected to Verizon 5G Nationwide, which has speeds about as fast as 4G LTE.
If you choose to use US Mobile on the T-Mobile network, then you’ll get even broader 5G coverage that reaches over 323 million people.
That’s over 98% of the U.S. population.
You’re more likely to get faster 5G speeds on T-Mobile, too, thanks to it’s more expansive Ultra Capacity 5G network.
US Mobile offers nationwide 4G LTE coverage on either Verizon or T-Mobile.
Whichever network you select when you activate your service will be the one that you use.
Verizon’s network covers 55% of the U.S. while T-Mobile’s network covers 35%.
Both networks claim to cover 99% of people living in the U.S., but you’ll definitely have coverage in more places on Verizon.
US Mobile offers service on the Verizon network, so coverage is the same between the two carriers.
US Mobile refers to its Verizon service as “Warp 5G.”
Anywhere you get Verizon 5G coverage, you’ll have US Mobile 5G coverage. And anywhere you get Verizon LTE coverage, you’ll have US Mobile LTE coverage.
US Mobile even offers domestic roaming on Verizon’s LTEiRA parters.
Domestic roaming is where your phone switches to a partner network in areas where your primary network doesn’t have service.
For example, in central Kentucky where Verizon doesn’t offer service, US Mobile customers will roam on Bluegrass Cellular for coverage.
Having access to LTEiRA roaming partners helps US Mobile offer some of the best coverage across the country.
US Mobile also offers service on the T-Mobile network, so coverage will be about the same between the two carriers.
US Mobile refers to its T-Mobile network as its “GSM LTE” network.
The main difference between US Mobile coverage and T-Mobile coverage is that US Mobile does not include domestic roaming on the T-Mobile network.
Domestic roaming is when your phone switches to a partner network to provide service in areas where your primary network provider doesn’t offer coverage.
Since US Mobile does not offer domestic roaming when using the service on T-Mobile, you’ll only have service in places where the native T-Mobile network offers service.
US Mobile’s coverage is similar to AT&T’s coverage.
US Mobile’s Warp 5G network (Verizon) covers 55% of the United States, which is about the same as AT&T’s network, which also covers 55%.
With 5G coverage, it’s a slightly different story.
US Mobie’s Warp 5G network has much less 5G coverage than AT&T.
AT&T covers an impressive 31% of the US with 5G, while US Mobile’s Warp 5G network only covers 12%.
Data speeds are similar between the two carriers.
According to Ookla, US Mobile’s median download speed was 69.01 Mbps, and its median upload speed was 9.33 Mbps.
Meanwhile, AT&T’s median download speed was 65.57 Mbps and its median upload speed was 7.98 Mbps.
Both US Mobile and AT&T will likely be great options in cities and in more rural areas.
Consider checking AT&T coverage here to see what service looks like in your area.
This data is from the FCC:
This data comes from our crowd-sourced coverage map:
US Mobile is able to use either Verizon or T-Mobile for coverage, and both networks cover over 99% of the U.S. population. So yes, for most people, US Mobile coverage will be good.
US Mobile offers 5G on both Verizon and T-Mobile's 5G networks. If you sign up for US Mobile's Warp 5G network, which uses Verizon, then you'll get access to Verizon's 5G Nationwide and 5G Ultra Wideband networks for coverage. If you sign up for US Mobile's GSM LTE network, which uses T-Mobile, then you'll get coverage on T-Mobile's Extended Range 5G and Ultra Capacity 5G networks.
US Mobile offers data-only eSIM plans in Canada. These data-only plans don't support calls or texts, so you'll want to use third-party apps like Telegram or WhatsApp if you need to make a call or send a message.
US Mobile offers data-only eSIM plans to help you stay connected in Mexico. These plans don't support calls or texts, so you'll want to use third-party apps like Telegram or WhatsApp for making calls or sending messages.
US Mobile offers international coverage in over 140 countries and destinations with data-only eSIM plans. These plans only work with eSIM compatible phones. And since the plans are data-only, you'll want to plan to use third-party apps like Telegram or WhatsApp to make calls or send messages.