Let's take a look at how the data splits across carriers.
Table 3: AT&T's Fastest Cities
| City | Top Download Speed (Mbit/s) | 2012 Test Dates |
| Indianapolis | 20.4 | July 18 - 24 |
| Cleveland | 19.7 | Sept. 6 - 15 |
| San Jose, Calif. | 19.5 | Aug. 17 - 21 |
| San Antonio | 18.8 | March 19 - 23 |
| Indianapolis | 18.6 | Feb. 13 - 19 |
| Source: RootMetrics | ||
AT&T has the fastest overall speeds, just edging Verizon out for top downloads.
Table 4: Cricket's Fastest Cities
| City | Top Download Speed (Mbit/s) | 2012 Test Dates |
| Philadelphia, PA | 0.9 | April 8 - April 14 |
| Kansas City, MO | 0.9 | April 24 - 30 |
| Charleston, SC | 0.9 | August 17 - 21 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 0.9 | July 28 - August 3 |
| Dayton, OH | 0.8 | May 8 - 12 |
| Source: RootMetrics | ||
Leap, which markets itself as Cricket Communications Inc., has the slowest overall numbers of any carrier but has no 4G LTE network -- aside from two markets, one just launched in Vegas -- to speak of.
Table 5: MetroPCS's Fastest Cities
| City | Top Download Speed (Mbit/s) | 2012 Test Dates |
| Dallas | 3.4 | Aug. 7 - 13 |
| Dallas | 3.2 | Feb. 21 - 27 |
| Orlando, Fla. | 2.9 | May 20 - 24 |
| San Francisco | 2.6 | July 18 - 24 |
| Tampa, Fla. | 2.4 | Jan. 13 - 19 |
| Source: RootMetrics | ||
MetroPCS gets its fastest numbers in Dallas, one of its oldest LTE markets, launched in September 2010.
Table 6: Sprint's Fastest Cities
| City | Top Download Speed (Mbit/s) | 2012 Test Dates |
| San Antonio | 6.9 | Aug. 7 - 13 |
| Kansas City, Mo. | 6.2 | Aug. 17 - 23 |
| Atlanta | 5.1 | Aug. 7 - 13 |
| Orlando, Fla. | 3.9 | May 20 - 24 |
| Dallas | 3.8 | Aug. 7 - 13 |
| Source: RootMetrics | ||
Because of its smaller radio channels -- typically 2x5MHz rather than 2x10MHz -- Sprint is getting less juice out its 4G network than either AT&T or Verizon.
Table 7: T-Mobile's Fastest Cities
| City | Top Download Speed (Mbit/s) | 2012 Test Dates |
| Atlanta | 10.8 | Aug. 7 - 13 |
| Seattle | 9.7 | June 15 - 21 |
| Orlando, Fla. | 9.5 | May 20 - 24 |
| Mission Viejo, Calif. | 9.5 | Feb. 21 - 25 |
| San Diego, Calif. | 9.4 | July 8 - 14 |
| Source: RootMetrics | ||
Note that T-Mobile is getting better performance out of its top 3G HSPA+ cities than Sprint is getting on its 4G cities.
Table 8: Verizon's Fastest Cities
| City | Top Download Speed (Mbit/s) | 2012 Test Dates |
| New Orleans | 19.7 | April 7 - 11 |
| Mission Viejo, Calif. | 18.3 | Feb. 21 - 25 |
| St. Louis | 17.6 | Jan. 5 - 11 |
| Kansas City, Mo. | 17.5 | Aug. 17 - 23 |
| Source: RootMetrics | ||
Verizon, meanwhile, comes very close to AT&T in performance and has a wider LTE footprint.
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