The latest wireless network rankings from RootMetrics will show that some of the nation’s leading tech ecosystems lagged well behind rival cities in mobile performance.
The company this week released numbers for 10 prominent tech hubs ahead of its forthcoming report, which will analyze 125 markets throughout the U.S. based on networks from Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint.
Although the first 10 cities each featured leading tech sectors, they showed decidedly mixed results in their wireless networks.
“Strong mobile performance isn’t just a nice-to-have; in these highly connected tech cities, fast and reliable mobile connections are key to both work and play,” RootMetrics analysts wrote.
Austin, Texas, led the initial 10 tech hubs at No. 16 nationally in overall performance, followed by Seattle at No. 26, San Diego at No. 40 and Washington, D.C., at No. 43. Austin saw the most reliable network, while Seattle led those markets in network speed.
The six remaining markets — including those in Silicon Valley — finished in roughly the bottom third of all 125 areas surveyed.
Denver came in at No. 82, following by San Jose at 88, San Francisco at 97 and Boston at 108. Although San Jose scored well in network speed, it was undone by a ranking of 104 in reliability.
Durham, N.C., and Madison, Wis. — by far the two smallest cities included in the initial list — finished at Nos. 109 and 111, respectively, due to particularly low scores from Sprint’s network compared to their larger counterparts.
Analysts noted that although some of the top four carriers were very strong in some of those markets, weak performances by their competitors could reduce a city’s overall score.
The full rankings are scheduled to be released early next month.