What To Know About Mobile Coverage Maps

3:00 Minute Read

Mobile coverage maps help you make carrier decisions by showing you where services are available. On a basic level, mobile coverage maps visually represent the availability of network services across different areas. They are indispensable for people and businesses to identify where mobile coverage is present around their homes or on-the-go.

However, these maps can be hard to understand due to differences in technologies and infrastructure between carriers. Here’s what you should know when reading coverage maps.

1. Coverage Maps Depict Complex Coverage Data

These maps are crafted using diverse data sources, including network measurements, signal strength tests and user-generated data. Companies continuously update these maps by collecting and analyzing data from cell towers and antennas, ensuring accuracy as network infrastructure expands and technology updates.

2. Modern Coverage Maps Show 4G LTE and 5G

4G LTE and 5G have different capabilities. Generally, 4G LTE provides fast, stable speeds across long distances. 5G offers higher speeds and lower latency but covers smaller areas, meaning denser clusters of towers are required to deliver consistent coverage.

Knowing that both technologies are depicted on coverage maps is important, especially if you have a device that does not support 5G.

Spectrum Mobile® delivers nationwide 5G, delivering the fastest wireless speeds when combined with Spectrum WiFi.

3. Coverage Maps Can Help You Plan

When you move or go on a road trip, knowing where you will have mobile coverage is important for safety and peace of mind. When you need to stay connected on-the-go, coverage maps can show you what to expect.

Spectrum Mobile covers 99% of the population. Advancements in technology and our growth have made the “dead zones” of the past harder to find, but they can still appear from time to time. Coverage maps can help you determine where you’ll be more reliably connected, especially when traveling through rural areas.

4. Coverage Maps Vary From Carrier to Carrier

Coverage maps can differ from carrier to carrier for a few reasons:

Infrastructure: Carriers have built out their coverage towers using different strategies over the years.
Technology: While most carriers have shifted their focus to 5G buildouts across the nation, some rural areas still receive coverage from existing 4G towers.
Naming: While 4G, LTE, and 5G are all fairly commonplace, different carriers refer to the same technologies differently, resulting in some confusion.

Spectrum makes it easy to see where you’ll have coverage. And, as the fastest-growing Mobile provider, we deliver reliable, high-speed coverage across the nation. See how Spectrum Mobile’s 4G and nationwide 5G coverage keep you reliably connected wherever you go.

5. Real-World Performance Can Vary

While coverage maps visualize hard data, real life performance can change from day to day and moment to moment, especially in areas where coverage is light. Many environmental factors can affect coverage, such as:

Geographic features like mountains and valleys

Building materials in dense urban areas

Weather conditions

Network congestion

Interference from other devices

Providers work hard to provide consistent coverage, but there are gaps from time to time. If coverage gets spotty while you’re on the move, Spectrum’s 48 million WiFi Access Points can provide Spectrum Mobile customers with secure high-speed Internet from locations around the country.

Because Spectrum runs on America’s largest and most dependable cellular network, you can have peace of mind that you’ll be connected whether you’re home or on the road. Take a look at the Spectrum Mobile coverage map and find out if we’re available in your area.