US Cellular Vs. T-Mobile Coverage (Read This Before Choosing)

Are you debating whether to use US Cellular or T-Mobile for your wireless carrier and want to know specifics about US Cellular’s compared to T-Mobile’s coverage?

If so, keep on reading as we tell you all about US Cellular versus T-Mobile coverage and give you information on which provider is best for rural and city areas!

US Cellular Vs. T-Mobile Coverage In [currentyear]

T-Mobile offers significantly better coverage than US Cellular if you’re comparing T-Mobile to US Cellular’s primary network in [currentyear]. However, US Cellular has domestic roaming agreements with several carriers, including T-Mobile, meaning it’s going to be reliable and work in a majority of the United States, especially in the midwestern states and more rural locations.

Do you want to know additional details about US Cellular versus T-Mobile coverage? Well, we have even more to share with you below, so read on to learn more!

Who Has Better Coverage, US Cellular Or T-Mobile?

T-Mobile has better coverage than US Cellular if you’re just comparing T-Mobile to US Cellular’s primary network.

To illustrate, you can see that T-Mobile covers more than 62% of the United States, whereas US Cellular’s primary network only covers about 11% of the United States.

However, if you look at the US Cellular coverage map, you can see that it covers a large section of the United States and has nearly identical coverage as T-Mobile.

With that, it is because it’s also showing partner agreements with other carriers, so you’re likely to find coverage with US Cellular in almost any location.

Does US Cellular Or T-Mobile Have Better 4G LTE Coverage?

There is not much debate about it; T-Mobile has much better 4G LTE coverage compared to the US Cellular primary network.

Having said that, US Cellular and T-Mobile both work very well in metropolitan areas throughout the country if you’re running off of the 4G LTE network.

Does US Cellular Or T-Mobile Have Better 5G Coverage?

When you look at the US Cellular 5G coverage, it’s almost non-existent and is only available in a few spots towards the middle of the country, and it doesn’t appear to be expanding.

In contrast, when you look at the T-Mobile 5G coverage map, you can see that T-Mobile has significantly better 5G coverage throughout the country and beats US Cellular hands down!

Does T-Mobile Use US Cellular Towers?

Does T-Mobile Use US Cellular Towers?

T-Mobile does not use US Cellular towers; instead, US Cellular is known to use the cell towers of other providers, including T-Mobile, that it has carrier agreements with.

Is US Cellular The Same As T-Mobile?

US Cellular is not the same as T-Mobile, but because it has roaming agreements with carriers such as T-Mobile, you will be running off of T-Mobile’s network in certain areas.

Further, when you’re roaming, you will find that the signal is weaker and less reliable, so it’s not the same in terms of reliability of coverage or performance.

That said, US Cellular ranks fourth in network operators within the country, so it’s just behind T-Mobile but substantially lacks the primary network coverage of T-Mobile.

Where Does US Cellular’s Coverage Beat T-Mobile?

If you live in certain locations within the United States, US Cellular coverage beats T-Mobile, including in the midwest and even in some of the northwestern sections of the United States.

For example, if you live in one of the following states, you may want to choose US Cellular instead of T-Mobile for better and more reliable coverage:

  • Maine
  • Iowa
  • Maryland
  • Wisconsin
  • Oregon
  • Illinois
  • Washington
  • Nebraska
  • Kansas
  • Missouri
  • Oklahoma
  • Arkansas
  • Tennessee
  • North Carolina
  • Virginia
  • West Virginia
  • New Hampshire
  • Northern California

To learn more, you can also read our posts on Applecare vs T-Mobile insurance, T-Mobile phone not receiving calls, and T-Mobile spam text.

Conclusion

When you look at US Cellular versus T-Mobile coverage, you’ll see that T-Mobile covers 62% of the country, and US Cellular’s primary network covers only about 11% of the country.

However, US Cellular has domestic roaming agreements with the four major carriers, including T-Mobile, which means you will have coverage almost anywhere in the country.

That said, if you live in midwestern states such as Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, or Oklahoma, US Cellular will provide you with better and more reliable coverage.

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Florence Howard

Florence Howard has been freelance writing for over a decade, and has a vocational background in retail, tech, and marketing. Outside of work, she enjoys listening to rock and metal, and playing with her dog and cat.

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