Best Phone Coverage in Florida: Cell Service in the Sunshine State

With beaches, Disney, national parks, and so much more, Florida is a state with something for everyone. With around 22 million residents, it is a bustling state that sees some serious heat all year long. Whether you are preparing to move down there or are simply dissatisfied with your current cell phone service, we are here to help you find the best cell phone coverage in Florida. We’ve done the research and are here to tell you all about the top three cell phone carriers in Florida. This article will break down the top three carriers for the best phone coverage in Florida, what we like about each carrier, and help you decide which one is right for you!

Our research found that AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Cricket Wireless are the top three for best phone coverage in Florida overall. This article features detailed information on the following: 

• Map of the fastest cell phone coverage in Florida
• Local and national carriers that cover Florida
• Frequently asked questions about phone coverage in Florida

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Phone Coverage in Florida at a Glance

Lightning-Fast Data Speeds on Major Networks

Florida is a big state with a lot of separate regions. As you can see in the above Map, AT&T and Verizon dominate the best cell phone coverage in Florida. The major difference between the two is that AT&T’s coverage is better in its weaker areas. Where Verizon has the best coverage, AT&T is close behind. Where AT&T has the best coverage, occasionally, Verizon’s is significantly worse or nonexistent. There are also various complaints about Verizon’s congestion in Florida, with serious slowdowns all around the state. 

The best cell phone coverage in Florida changes with your location, but AT&T is the best overall. Let’s break down the top three. 

Local and National Cell Phone Carriers in Florida

The top three carriers in Florida are AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and Cricket Wireless. 

AT&T is your best option for cell phone coverage in Florida. It keeps its top spot with very reliable cell phone coverage all around the state, with a fast 5G network backed by its 4G LTE network. Additionally, AT&T’s robust network evades congestion more than the other two networks, helping all their users keep high-speed data as much as possible. 

The third carrier on our list is Cricket Wireless, a Mobile Virtual Network Operator. MVNOs rent their bandwidth from the big three networks to give their customers cheaper access to data. The two major downsides to MVNOs are that their plans offer limited high-speed data and lower data priority, meaning your data gets slowed down whenever bandwidth is strained. Cricket Wireless, fortunately, offers a pair of plans with unlimited high-speed data, but customers will experience more data slowdowns than AT&T’s customers. Data priority is most important in cities or areas where a lot of people are gathered, like the various metropolitan centers in Florida, especially ones that see large gatherings for events or tourism throughout the year. 

#1 in Florida: AT&T 

Fastest 5G and 4G LTE in Florida

Out of all the carriers, AT&T takes the crown for the best cell phone coverage in Florida. AT&T’s coverage is reliable and fast, with few dead spots or other slow zones relative to the other major wireless carriers. Whether you are in Tampa, Tallahassee, or are living in the ‘burbs, you can access your mobile network confidently, knowing that you are covered. 

Price: Varies

Plan: AT&T offers three unlimited plans at various price points. 

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AT&T offers three unlimited plans. 

• AT&T Unlimited Starter Plan
• AT&T Unlimited Extra Plan
• AT&T Unlimited Premium Plan

AT&T’s unlimited plans start at a high price point and become much more affordable with the addition of new lines. Multi-line savings are similar among the three major providers and are essential to avoid paying huge cell phone bills each month. These are the basic details of AT&T’s three cell phone plans: 

• AT&T’s starter plan has unlimited high-speed data with 3 GBs of high-speed hotspot data.  
• AT&T’s extra plan comes with 50 GB of premium data and 15 GB of high-speed hotspot data. 
• AT&T’s premium plan comes with unlimited premium data and 50 GB of high-speed hotspot data.

AT&T’s premium plan also comes with UHD streaming which is quite nice. It does mean, however, that the other two plans available at AT&T only allow SD streaming when on mobile data. This is a good time to think about what you need from your cell phone plan. Things like unlimited high-speed data, HD streaming, and mobile hotspot data can be incredible parts of the plan as long as you use them. If you notice that parts of your current cell phone plan won’t give you any value, we recommend looking for plans without them. If you live in one of the bigger Floridian cities, you may find data slowdowns when you use basic data, but AT&T’s network in the metropolitan areas is regarded as super strong and rarely congested. Their Florida coverage exceeds either of the other major wireless networks regarding strength and reliability. 

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👍 What We Liked

• Reliable Network. Many customers report excellent high-speed data, even in congested areas like Disney. Disney is a great stress test for Floridian networks, as it is constantly filled with guests, many of whom are on their cell phones.  
• Premium Data. While it is an unlikely occurrence, a surprise slow-down of your mobile service is quite vexing. The second-tier plan with 50 GBs of premium data works as a great bridge between their first and third plans. Be careful, however, because the 50 GBs are shared between every user, so it will go quickly.  

👎 What We Didn’t Like

• SD Streaming. Cutting video streaming off at standard definition for the starter and the mid-tier plan is a tough sell for anyone who likes to stream video when on the move. 
• Price. This is a common qualm with major wireless networks, but AT&T’s prices are steep. Overall, prices at major wireless networks are challenging to pay without multi-line discounts. If you can, find some friends to take out an account together and enjoy serious savings. 

#2 in Florida: Verizon Wireless

Most Affordable Cell Phone Plans in Florida

Verizon falls behind AT&T in network overall, but they still deliver a great network in and around Florida. Verizon’s big 5G Ultra Wideband network provides insane network speeds, but they are still rolling it out. This leads to certain areas where their max data speeds are through the roof, while others are in a range comparable to AT&T and T-Mobile. 

Price: Varies

Plan: Verizon offers a pair of unlimited plans. One has unlimited high-speed data, and the other has unlimited premium high-speed data.  

Verizon offers two unlimited plans. 

• Welcome Unlimited, priced at $65/55/40/30 a month per line
• Unlimited Plus, priced at $80/70/55/45 a month per line

These plans bring a lot to the table. Both have unlimited high-speed data, and the unlimited plus brings a number of additional incentives to the table, including: 

• 30 GB mobile hotspot
• Device savings
• Price Guarantee
• Premium data

Verizon’s premium data is nice, but dissatisfied customers report occasional slowdowns even when using premium data in Florida. Data slowdowns in Disney are to be expected, but customers report unstable data speeds in all the major metropolitan areas of the state. Although Verizon’s max speeds are amazing, their network has a lot of holes. The good news: Verizon’s basic 5G network and their 4G LTE networks provide a blanket of coverage where their Ultra Wideband does not reach. 

Verizon offers a wide variety of add-ons, which are nice bonuses to their service. The best part — they are optional. Each add-on is $10 a month and saves you some money on the service, but if none of them seem like things you need, then you can skip it entirely and stick with the base plan. 

👍 What We Liked

• High Data Speeds. There are amazing spikes in data speeds when you are within their strong 5G networks.  
• Family Plan Savings. The biggest con of Verizon is the price of their plans, and their family plan savings neatly cut the price of their plans. If you have at least three lines on the plan, it becomes much more affordable, but be wary of opening a line with Verizon if you are on your own. 

👎 What We Didn’t Like

• Price. Verizon is expensive. Their plans provide great service, lightning-fast speeds, and lots of add-ons, but they come at a high price. If you aren’t able to find family and friends with whom to share the account, the price point of their plans is a hard pill to swallow. 
• Spotty Florida Coverage. A common troubleshooting option with Verizon is to turn off 5G data and jump on their more reliable 4G LTE network, which is not ideal.  

#3 in Florida: Cricket Wireless

Best Cell Phone Plan Range in Florida

If you are thinking that this coverage map looks familiar — You’re right! Cricket operates through AT&T’s mobile network, so you will receive the same coverage throughout Florida as you would with the major wireless carrier. This is an amazing way to receive the best cell phone coverage in Florida without paying the premium prices of AT&T’s network. 

Price: Varies

Plan: Cricket Wireless has four plans, two of which provide unlimited high-speed data and two that provide limited data. 

Cricket Wireless's four plans for one line are as follows:

• Unlimited data + 15 GB Mobile Hotspot
• Unlimited data
• 10 GB data
• 5 GB data

While the base pricing of Cricket’s plans is rather pricey, the company provides excellent multi-line savings. 

These multi-line savings are what really draw us to their service. Cricket is one of the more expensive MVNOs, but they provide unlimited high-speed data with their two more expensive plans, justifying the cost in our eyes. As they work on AT&T’s network, you can rest assured that Cricket’s service in Florida is one of the best. 

Cricket’s two unlimited plans provide unlimited high-speed data which is what separates them from the other AT&T MVNOs in our eyes. There are few MVNO data plans that offer the same. Make sure you read the fine print as you browse the offerings. Lots of MVNO unlimited plans offer unlimited 3G data and a limited amount of high-speed data, taking them out of the running for high-data users. Most of these plans offer between 30 and 50 GB per month, which, while sizeable, is not a lot if you use your phone on the mobile network every day. As data speeds increase, so does your phone’s data consumption. It is all too easy to burn through any limited data allocation before the month is done, leaving you with slow, slow 3G data for the rest of the time.. 

👍 What We Liked

• Mutli-Line Savings. While the prices start high, multi-line accounts rack up serious savings. 
• Reliable Network.  Cricket Wireless works on AT&T’s network, providing some of the best cell phone coverage in Florida to all its users. 

👎 What We Didn’t Like

• High Starting Prices. The single-line pricing of Cricket plans is much higher than other MVNOs that provide similar amounts of data. 
• Strange Pricing. The multi-line pricing on the two limited-data plans means low-data users cannot save as much as those on unlimited plans. 

Get to Know Your Local Carrier Options in Florida

This article highlighted two of the three major wireless carriers, but rest assured that T-Mobile is another fantastic option for the best cell phone coverage in Florida. Their 5G network, while not as reliable as AT&T’s, covers the majority of the state and outputs excellent connection. This article only delivered three cell providers, but many more are available if none of these seems like the right choice for you and your fellow account members. 

One of the biggest factors in choosing a carrier is whether you are a single-line account or a multi-line account. All of the options on this list benefit greatly from multi-line accounts, but there are many carriers that have fantastic single-line deals. Two of our favorites are Tello Mobile and Visible Wireless. Neither offer multi-line savings but have great single-line pricing. Visible Wireless offers unlimited high-speed data for only $30 a month on Verizon’s network. Tello Mobile offers various low-data plans, perfect for those who don’t need to use much mobile data. 

FAQ: Your Questions About Cell Phone Coverage in Florida, Answered

Which phone service has the best coverage in Florida?

AT&T has the best cell phone coverage in Florida with its high-speed and very reliable network across the state. It bests Verizon because of Verizon’s recent congestion issues. Cell phone activities use more and more data, and all three major networks are racing to keep up with the recent increase in data consumption. 

Who has the best cell coverage in SW Florida?

AT&T has the best cell phone coverage in SW Florida. Their network reaches the edges of Florida, providing reliable coverage out to the beaches. 

Does T-Mobile work well in Florida?

While AT&T is the best overall, T-Mobile does exceptionally well in the Southern parts of Florida. They are almost as fast and reliable as AT&T, making T-Mobile a great choice for cell coverage in Florida. 

What cell service is best in South Florida?

AT&T and T-Mobile are equally fast and reliable in South Florida. If you have either carrier, you will receive excellent coverage as you travel to South Florida. 

TLDR; AT&T is your best bet for fast phone coverage in Florida

Use really.com to compare! 

Florida offers many excellent options for solid cell phone coverage. With so many metropolitan centers throughout the state, all three major wireless networks have upgraded their cell coverage. If you want more info about plans available in Florida, you can compare carriers at Really.com to decide which phone carrier is best for you.