Verizon vs Sprint 5G throwdown: Lightning-fast network speeds are just the beginning
Think of 5G and you're thinking of speed – everything from 2x to 10x what you get with 4G, as a start. But after two tests of Verizon's 5G network in Chicago and a in Dallas with Sprint it is clear that download speeds are just the beginning of what a satisfactory 5G experience is. Consistency and coverage are as important as incredible top speeds and lightning fast downloads in real time.
For example, Verinson's field trials were faster than Sprint at all, but our test with Sprint showed the importance of a broader coverage in general. The results of these two tests are not near a conclusion that the network is "better". Right now, they are both saddled with challenges and growing pains that can even increase as more people begin to spend the nights. Our time with these budding networks is an important litmus for our faster future.
We are still far from 5G's broader applications, such as helping self-driving cars talk to each other on the road, remote surgery, flawless video calls, and real-time graphics-heavy games. Even in the short term, you may not fully feel the effects of next generation 5G speeds until these networks are more structured, more phones are available, and the cost of ownership falls. However, the reality of 5G's ability to make the download speed exponentially faster, undeniably clear and now happens.
And now, here's how the Verizon and Sprint's 5G tests compare.
Read : 5G is real and Verizon, Sprint and EE have the nights to prove it.
5G network footprint: Sprint wins today
Sprint claims victory in turning on a larger 5G square foot network than Verizon. Verizon, however, is the largest US network of population coverage, while Sprint is currently fourth. Nevertheless, Sprint's strong start with 5G makes it an attractive negotiating chip in proposed Sprint-T-Mobile merger .
If DOJ approves the merger, the newly-strengthened T-Mobile will be in a strong competitive position to take on Verizon and AT & T (which have a 5G hotspot network, but have not yet invited journalists to public field testing.)
Watch this:
Try Sprint 5G on the LG V50
11:22
Verizon stats
Read : Watch live 5G coverage anywhere in the world 
V50 ThinQ is LG and Sprint's first 5G phone.
Lynn La / CNET
Verizon is over 2x faster than Sprint's top speeds
We tested Verizon and Sprint speeds in two different ways. First, use the Speedtest.net benchmarking app to measure speeds in different locations around each city. Second, we downloaded apps, movies and TV shows to see how quickly the network and phones handled real actions.
The top speed in Chicago was faster on our second visit and more than twice as fast as Sprint's fastest speed on the LG V50 in Dallas.
Verizon top 5G speed : 1.3 Gbps downlink (gigabit per second)
Sprint top 5G speed : 484 Mbps downlink (megabits per second)
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View the Rampant Real Speed of Galaxy S10 5G
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For reference, our fast home internet speeds can fluctuate in the 400Mbps series.
The Verizon network's 5G speed does not stop at peak speeds. Our 5G final trek to Chicago consistently spread 400Mbps to over 1Gbps and we broke through the 1Gbps barrier four times in a 4-hour test period. 4G speeds were also faster where we tested 5G.
This is an imperfect comparison in many ways. Verizon and Sprint use different spectrum (radio frequencies). Verizon uses the millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum, which provides extremely fast speeds to a targeted area. However, Sprint uses midband frequencies, which cover a relatively larger area, but is a bit slower and thus 400Mbps peaks.
Sprint's 5G download tests are a bit slower than Verizon, but still the real deal.
Lynn La / CNET
Real-world tests are more impressive than you think
Top speeds are one thing, but what you really care about is how quickly your performances and movies can be downloaded. We downloaded some of the same apps and shows in Chicago and Dallas to try to compare. Of course, there are no apples for apples due to testing of limitations that have us in different cities, on different networks using different phones at different times (and at one time, another season of the show – oops).
Verizon 5G vs. Sprint 5G
| Galaxy S10 5G (Verizon) | Galaxy S10 Plus (Verizon) | LG V50 (Sprint) | LG G8 (Sprint) | |
| PUBG Mobile (1.86 GB) | 2.5 minutes | ~ 3 minutes | 3 minutes, 31 seconds | 73MB (3% of the file) after 3.5 minutes |
| Vinlandsfilm (143 minutes) | 8.2 seconds | Little progress after 2 minutes | 3 minutes, 45 seconds * | No progress |
| Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Season 1 (8 episodes) | N / A | N / A | 4 minutes | First episode not downloaded after 4 minutes |
| Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Season 2 (10 episodes) | ~ 5 minutes | 1 episode in 4 minutes | N / A | N / A |
* Sprint later said there were issues at this site
Takeaway here is that 5G will be faster than its 4G counterpart in ways you can really see.
Sprint beats Verizon's consistency
Where Sprint really pulls out, it was in full coverage. Our test in Dallas had us in a bus and car driving around town while watching download speeds pass between 5G and 4G. We were able to test on the go and there was a larger area of town and the Dallas outskirts equipped with coverage.
At the same time in Chicago (we didn't get the chance to test in Minneapolis), 5G sites worked more like hotspots. They work best when you are within a sight and 100 to 300 meters away. The coverage areas are smaller and the signal is finer, easily obstructed by trees, cars, raindrops – you mention it. S10-5g verizon-2 [10659075] 10-5g-verizon-2 ” height=”0″ width=”1092″/>
Jessica Dolcourt / CNET
The mmWave spectrum used by Verizon cannot penetrate either indoors or through glass, so you cannot benefit from driving in your car or workplace yet. Remember, 5G is still in painful early days.
The larger coverage area showed in our Dallas tests, but again this was a city with its very special geography, and Sprint took the time to build its network. Verizon quickly rushed to the first test, due to the network (and Samsung) inviting journalists back to the test Galaxy S10 5G .
What does it all mean?
Verizon is superior in consistently fast 5G speeds … when you can actually lock on the network. Sprint showed us how slower, but wider 5G coverage can still benefit you from faster than 4G across-the-board downloads.
Having said that, these tests are still best thought of as demonstrations, since they are closely monitored by the carriers, and since there are only a few people using the network at a time. When people start pinging the 5G networks in the run, it will be the real test of network speed, overload and convenience.
After all the talk, it is refreshing to see that 5G networks come to life. But they still have such a long way to go.
Lynn La contributed to this story.
Originally published May 31 at. 11.30 PT.
Update, June 1st at. 10:13 PT : Added more details.
Update, June 2 at 9:32 pm PT : Added more details.
