The battle at Levi’s Stadium wasn’t just on the field during Super Bowl LX. Verizon scored a massive victory in the connectivity race. New data reveals the carrier dominated rivals with lightning fast 5G speeds. This ensured thousands of fans could stream and share every moment without a single glitch.
While the players fought for the Lombardi Trophy, the major mobile carriers fought for bandwidth dominance. A crowd of nearly 65,000 people creates a digital traffic jam that usually crushes standard networks. But this year was different. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile all pushed their technology to the limit. The results are in, and one winner stands clearly above the rest.
Breaking Down the Record Breaking Speed Numbers
Connectivity in a packed stadium is the ultimate stress test for any mobile network. Fans are uploading videos, checking fantasy stats, and video calling friends all at once. According to the latest intelligence report from Ookla, Verizon took the crown for raw performance. The numbers tell a very clear story of dominance.
Verizon hit a staggering median download speed of 1464.38 Mbps during the event.
This is a massive leap forward. Just look at the growth. In June 2025, Verizon was clocking speeds around 914.30 Mbps at the venue. Jump forward to January 2026, and that number skyrocketed. This kind of speed allows a user to download a full high definition movie in just a few seconds while standing in a screaming crowd.
The competition also saw improvements, but they could not catch the leader. AT&T managed to reach a median download speed of 796.61 Mbps. T-Mobile followed closely behind with 768.01 Mbps. While these speeds are impressive compared to average daily use, they are roughly half of what Verizon delivered to its customers.
Here is a quick look at how the carriers stacked up for download speeds:
- Verizon: 1464.38 Mbps
- AT&T: 796.61 Mbps
- T-Mobile: 768.01 Mbps
These figures represent a significant investment in infrastructure. The goal was to ensure that the fan experience was seamless. Nobody wants to see a buffering wheel when they are trying to post a touchdown celebration to social media.
verizon mmwave 5g antenna tower levi stadium super bowl
Massive Infrastructure Upgrades Powered the Win
The secret behind this performance lies in the hardware hidden throughout Levi’s Stadium. Verizon benefited heavily from its multi-year partnership with the NFL. This deal allowed them to install specific equipment designed for high density crowds.
The carrier deployed advanced mmWave and C-band antennas across the entire venue.
mmWave technology is the heavy lifter here. It uses high frequency radio waves that carry huge amounts of data. The downside is that these waves do not travel far. To solve this, Verizon installed antennas practically everywhere. This ensures that a phone is never too far from a strong signal source.
Levi’s Stadium itself played a big role. The venue upgraded its distributed antenna system (DAS) to full 5G capabilities in 2024. This was done to prepare for both Super Bowl LX and the upcoming FIFA World Cup. This baseline upgrade gave all carriers a strong foundation to build upon.
Rivals did not sit idly by. AT&T rolled out its “Turbo Live” program. This included expanding macro sites and deploying portable solutions. You might have seen their Cell on Wheels (CoW) or Cell on Light Truck (COLT) units parked around the stadium perimeter. These temporary towers add capacity where it is needed most. Despite these efforts, the integrated millimeter wave strategy from Verizon proved superior inside the bowl.
Low Latency Kept Fans Connected in Real Time
Download speed is only half the battle. If you are live streaming or video calling, you care about upload speed and latency. Latency is the delay between when you tap a button and when the network responds. Lower numbers are better.
Verizon achieved a median multi-server latency of just 17 milliseconds.
This is incredibly fast. For comparison, T-Mobile clocked in at 34 milliseconds, and AT&T sat at 24 milliseconds. A latency of 17 ms means the connection feels instant. It is responsive enough for real time gaming or augmented reality applications.
Upload speeds followed a similar winning pattern for the network giant. Verizon jumped from 115.98 Mbps in mid 2025 to 244.06 Mbps by game day. This is vital for today’s content creators.
“Connectivity in heavily crowded environments can be wonky, with many users on phones competing for bandwidth. This can get overwhelming for carriers.”
When 65,000 people try to upload a video at the exact same time, the “uplink” usually gets clogged. Verizon’s capacity meant that fans could share 4K videos without waiting. T-Mobile saw upload speeds of 101.04 Mbps, and AT&T trailed at 79.71 Mbps. The gap here is significant. Verizon customers had more than double the upload capability of their peers.
To understand how special this is, we have to look at the surrounding area. In nearby San Jose, the average download speed for all carriers was just 167.57 Mbps. The upload speed was a meager 11.8 Mbps. The stadium was essentially a supercharged island of connectivity.
Strategic Shift Under New Leadership Pays Off
This victory validates a long term strategy that faced harsh criticism in the past. Years ago, analysts questioned why Verizon spent billions on mmWave spectrum licenses. Critics argued the signal range was too short to be practical. Super Bowl LX proved them wrong.
The short range signals were exactly what was needed to handle the density of the Super Bowl crowd.
Under the leadership of CEO Dan Schulman, the company has refined its approach. They have shifted to a balanced strategy. They use low band 5G for broad coverage and mmWave for high traffic zones like stadiums and airports.
This event serves as a case study for future network planning. It shows that throwing raw bandwidth at a problem works if you have the right spectrum. The upgrades made at Levi’s Stadium are permanent. This means fans attending future concerts or 49ers games will continue to enjoy these speeds.
Key takeaways from this strategic win include:
- Spectrum Matters: High band spectrum is essential for crowds.
- Preparation is Key: Upgrades began years in advance.
- Partnership Value: The NFL deal gave Verizon a logistical edge.
The data from Ookla confirms that we have entered a new era of connectivity. The days of losing signal just because you are in a crowd are ending. For the tens of thousands in attendance at Super Bowl LX, the network performed just as well as the athletes on the field.
The Super Bowl is the biggest stage in America. Verizon used that stage to make a statement. They delivered a network experience that was faster, more responsive, and more reliable than the competition. While fans cheered for touchdowns, the engineers quietly celebrated a technical touchdown of their own. It sets a high bar for what we should expect at major events moving forward.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this technology. Did you notice the speed difference if you were at the game? Drop a comment below or share your experience on social media using #SuperBowlLX and #Verizon5G to join the conversation.
