Testing Verizon C-Band in New York City: Range, Speed, and More

pcmag.com:

Verizon's C-Band 5G is the biggest upgrade the carrier has had in years, and it makes a real difference. In our testing, C-Band made our connections in New York City about 50% faster, and our speeds fell far short of what people in other cities are seeing.

This week Verizon launched its new form of 5G in 46 cities, and AT&T did so in eight. Verizon's C-Band uses 60MHz of new airwaves to provide faster, more reliable connections. The difference is noticeable, with considerably faster connections and less congestion.

However, when we tested Verizon's day-one network in New York City, it didn't measure up to T-Mobile's speedy, citywide "5G UC"—at least, not yet. T-Mobile dominates New York City right now, with performance well beyond either of the two competing carriers.

That may not be the case elsewhere. With 46 metro areas going live at once, reports are coming in from all around the country. Redditors are busy posting spectacular C-Band speeds, including 859Mbps down in Los Angeles, 586Mbps outside Pittsburgh, and 413Mbps in Indianapolis.

To test C-Band, we're using the new Ookla WIND software, a carrier-grade package that runs on altered Samsung Galaxy S21+ phones. WIND's Pro version, which the company supplied to us for testing, shows all the nitty-gritty details of frequency band use and lets testers build complex setups with voice, data, text, and video tests. (We'll be using WIND for other stories going forward, including our Fastest Mobile Networks testing.)

Verizon's C-Band is currently in 46 metro areas and covers 90 million people, Verizon says. But in New York City, it was a little hard to find.

I walked through a swathe of East Harlem in Manhattan, from 96th to 125th Streets; as well as many neighborhoods of