The US carrier landscape is dominated by three major players. T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T battle it out each year to claim the title of nation’s best, and although T-Mobile was in a league of its own as per Ookla’s H2 2025 findings, AT&T is proving that raw speed isn’t the only way to customers’ hearts.
T-Mobile doubles Verizon’s download speeds to become the fastest US carrier
But Verizon still holds the coverage crown
Brand research consultancy firm Brand Keys’ 2026 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index is out now, and according to it, AT&T has secured the #1 spot (via Android Authority).
The report highlighted that US wireless companies made over $352 billion in revenue in 2025 alone, highlighting that in a market where 98 percent of Americans already own a cellphone, the real victory is in keeping the customers you already have. And that’s exactly what AT&T has been doing back to back for 17 years.
Yes, AT&T has secured the #1 spot in the Customer Loyalty Engagement Index for the 17th year in a row now, and that’s evident from its 0.98 percent churn rate.
This comes from a market where over 89 percent of those surveyed said they can’t live without their smartphone.
AT&T’s success when it comes to customer retention and loyalty can be attributed to a few factors. For starters, the carrier is America’s oldest phone company (founded in March 1885). It is widely available across the nation with a high reliability score. But, most importantly, the company is outspending the competition to maintain its lead.
According to MotleyFool, between 2020 and 2024, AT&T poured more than $150 billion into its network. “It’s currently in the process of adding another 50 megahertz of low-and-mid-band spectrum covering roughly 400 U.S. markets from EchoStar to bolster its 5G services. This $23 billion deal is expected to close in mid-2026,” reads the report.
It’s worth noting that even though AT&T made it to the top when it comes to customer loyalty, Verizon and T-Mobile aren’t too far behind in terms of achievements either. T-Mobile, for example, boasts an extremely low 0.93 percent churn rate, while Verizon is aggressively targeting 1 million new postpaid subscribers this year.
