Cell Phone Coverage In Columbia
All three major networks are expected to offer good cell coverage in Columbia. Check coverage at your location with the map below.
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4G LTE & 5G Coverage In Columbia
The table below shows the proportion of Columbia with coverage from different cellular technologies.Network | 4G Coverage | 5G Coverage |
---|---|---|
AT&T | 99% | 1% |
T-Mobile | 93% | 83% |
Verizon | 100% | 94% |
Dish | 0% | 76% |
Don't be alarmed by Dish's lack of 4G coverage in Columbia. Dish has a newly-built network that's 5G-only.
US Cellular And Dish Roaming Coverage
US Cellular does not have native coverage in Columbia. However, some US Cellular subscribers may still have coverage in Columbia thanks to roaming agreements.
The 76% figure for Dish may understate what subscribers in Columbia experience after accounting for roaming agreements.
Millimeter Wave 5G
Parts of Columbia have millimeter wave 5G coverage. This novel celluar technology offers extremely fast speeds, but the coverage potential is limited. Millimeter waves aren't well-suited for traveling long distances.
Network | Millimeter Wave |
---|---|
Verizon | ✓ |
AT&T | ? |
T-Mobile | ? |
Millimeter wave coverage in Columbia is likely sparse (mostly limited to dense, outdoor areas like popular parks or sports stadiums).
Columbia Cell Signal Strength
There are 3,911 map hexes within the census-defined boundaries of Columbia. The table below shows the proportion of hexes at various levels of signal strength. Where both 4G and 5G coverage is available, data is drawn from whichever technology offers a stronger signal.
Network | Strong | Decent | Weak | None |
---|---|---|---|---|
AT&T | 8% | 52% | 39% | 1% |
T-Mobile | 14% | 42% | 37% | 7% |
Verizon | 20% | 68% | 11% | 0% |
Dish | 4% | 34% | 39% | 24% |
For most purposes, decent signals are perfectly sufficient. Weak or non-existent signals cause far greater degradation in user experience.
Due to data-reliability concerns, 82 hexes in Columbia that fall in bodies water, along rivers, or near shorelines are excluded from the table above.
Crowdsourced Coverage Data In Columbia
Coverage Critic has 14,940 crowdsourced data points from 526 map hexes within the boundaries of Columbia. Data is available for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
Network | Unique Hexes | Total Observations |
---|---|---|
AT&T | 280 | 3,114 |
T-Mobile | 419 | 8,548 |
Verizon | 319 | 3,241 |
Click here to toggle to the map's crowdsourced data layer.
South Carolina State-Wide Coverage Scores
Network | Coverage Score |
---|---|
Verizon | 8.8 / 10 |
AT&T | 8.6 / 10 |
T-Mobile | 8.2 / 10 |
Data Sourcing
Coverage maps draw on data from the FCC's Broadband Data Collection and Coverage Critic's crowdsourcing.
The coverage information for Columbia is rated as medium-high confidence. Documentation is available elsewhere covering limitations of Coverage Critic's approach.
Last updated: February 26, 2025