If you’re in search of a new cell phone plan, you may have come across Visible and its affordable unlimited data plan.
Budget-friendly carriers like Visible can save you over $500 per year on your cell phone bill.
However, you may wonder if Visible’s coverage will meet your expectations.
In this article, we will explore the coverage provided by Visible and compare it to other major carriers to help you make an informed decision.
Visible is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) that is owned by Verizon.
Visible uses Verizon’s network to provide service.
By leveraging Verizon’s towers and operating online only, Visible is able to offer affordable plans without compromising on the quality of service. Unlimited data from Visible costs just $30 per month.
Below, you can see our community-contributed map of Visible’s coverage. This map has over 1.5 million speed tests so you can get an accurate idea of what Visible coverage and data speeds are like in your area.
You can search for your area in the search bar, and you can toggle between Visible’s LTE and 5G coverage using the coverage maps below:
The above data comes from the FCC’s National Broadband Map.
The FCC collected signal strength data from all network operators 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.
Visible uses the Verizon network to provide coverage.
Since Visible relies on Verizon, its coverage is essentially the same as that of Verizon.
This means that Visible offers extensive 4G LTE and 5G coverage across the country.
Use Visible's compatibility checker to see if your device will work on their network.
Visible offers nationwide 5G coverage on Verizon’s 5G Nationwide and 5G Ultra Wideband networks.
Verizon 5G Nationwide currently covers about 230 million people, or roughly 69% of the U.S. population.
Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband is much faster, but it has a bit less coverage. Verizon says 5G Ultra Wideband covers about 200 million people as of March 7th, 2023, which is about 60% of the U.S. population.
Check Visible 5G coverage in your area here.
Nationwide 4G LTE coverage is available on Visible thanks to Verizon’s extensive 4G LTE network, which covers 99% of Americans.
Check Visible LTE coverage in your area here.
Visible runs on the Verizon network, so coverage is the same between the two carriers.
Visible even gets access to Verizon’s domestic roaming partners.
Domestic roaming is where your phone switches to a partner network for coverage in areas where your primary network doesn’t have service.
Many times, prepaid carriers like Visible are not able to provide service in areas where their parent network does not have service.
However, in Visible’s case, they are able to use the existing roaming agreements in place by Verizon to provide service.
So in parts of Nebraska, for example, where Verizon may not have built out native coverage just yet, Visible customers can roam on the Viaero Wireless network for service.
Viaero Wireless is a local network operator in Nebraska and allows certain carriers to use them for coverage.
Having access to domestic roaming coverage areas helps give Visible some of the best coverage possible, and makes it the same as Verizon coverage here in the United States.
Visible’s coverage is very similar to AT&T’s coverage,.
Visible covers 55% of the United States and AT&T also covers 55%.
With 5G coverage, it’s a different story though. Visible has under half the 5G coverage as AT&T. AT&T covers 31% of the US with 5G, while Visible covers only 12%.
Data speeds are similar between the two carriers.
According to Ookla, Visible’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 Visible and AT&T offer similar coverage and data speeds to one another, and likely both carriers will be great options in many areas.
You can check AT&T coverage in your area here to see how it compares to Visible.
Visible’s coverage is a bit better than T-Mobile’s coverage.
Visible covers an impressive 55% of the area in the US, compared to just 35% covered by T-Mobile.
That said, T-Mobile has over double the 5G coverage than Visible does. T-Mobile boasts 26% 5G coverage compared to Visible’s 12% 5G coverage.
T-Mobile also has faster speeds than Visible. T-Mobile got median download speeds of 151 Mbps and median upload speeds of 12.5 Mbps, according to Ookla’s February 2023 report.
Visible’s median speeds were 69 Mbps down and 9.3 Mbps up.
Both carriers will likely provide adequate coverage in major cities, and T-Mobile will likely deliver faster speeds.
However, Visible’s larger coverage footprint will likely come in handy outside of major cities and could be a better pick in more rural parts of the country.
You can check T-Mobile coverage in your area here.
Visible uses Verizon, which has one of the largest network footprints in America. For most people, yes, Visible's coverage will be good. See Visible's self-published coverage map here.
Yes. Visible offers 5G on both Verizon's Nationwide 5G network and Verizon's Ultra Wideband 5G network.
No, Visible does not offer service in Canada.
No, Visible does not offer service in Mexico.
Visible only works within the United States.